Blue felt the weight on their back and was a little surprised. Cronan weighed a lot more than they'd expected. He was a pretty big guy, bit still, just how heavy was that armor? They were just glad they were strong enough to lift so much weight. Their condensing training had really paid off a lot, and this was just another time it proved useful.

"I'm really good with shapeshifting magic. I can turn into other things too." Blue stated in a deeper, slightly hoarse-sounding voice. They weren't as good at speaking while transformed into an animal as they were while in a humanoid form. They peaked back over their wing bit farther than one might expect a bird's neck to be capable of turning. It was true that they were good at shapeshifting, but it wasn't exactly magic. It came to them as an ooze, but they didn't go around confessing to everyone they'd just met that they were secretly a sentient slime. They'd keep that a secret for now.

"Hold on tight. Don't want you to fall off into the water!"

Spreading their wings and flapping with a bit more effort than usual thanks to Cronan's weight, Blue took off and started flying over the sea toward Dragon's Cradle, their home.

"Interesting," Cronan replies. It really was interesting to him. Maybe he could learn that magic? Wait, could he learn magic? That will be something to investigate.

As they lifted off, Cronan gripped tighter onto the armor. His footing was steady, but it was a new experience and he didn't want to accidentally fall. Outside of the initial pang of fear, the sights were beautiful. The suns rays danced over the surface of the water, the cloudless sky revealing a magnificent blue and an incredibly bright orange ball - presumably the sun. The distance revealed far off lands and mountains even further off.

As they fly, it became exceedingly obvious that they were on an island, surrounded by a bigger island that could almost be considered a country in its own right. 2 large spires tower over Sol City. A large golden spire with what looks to be a mimicry of the sun overhead resting atop it. And another spire, dark in color, appearing largely featureless minus some wear and tear. Cronan would recognize the second spire as where he awoke.

Would that technically be his home? He is unsure, but probably not. That's okay, though. They continue flying over the water for the next couple of hours, Wolfe and Cronan making small talk every once in a while. Mainly Cronan asking questions like "What is Dragons Cradle like?" and "What would the duties of a knight involve?"

Eventually, Dragons Cradle reveals itself. Mountains spread across the land in a way that Cronan finds fascinating. Soon enough, they begin to descend. Cronan begins planning what he's going to tell and ask Astrid about. 

As they flew, Blue did their best to answer all of the questions Cronan asked. It was pleasant, having a bit of conversation to keep the flight from being boring. A beautiful view could only keep someone's attention for so long.

"Oh, Dragon's Cradle is great! It's almost always cloudy and lightning strikes all over the place, like, all the time. Lots of mountains with lots of caves to explore. Our village is on a mountain, too. Oh, and sometimes it rains acid, but don't worry, it doesn't do that in the village."

"Hmmm, I'm not really sure what the duties would be of any of the other orders, but they said that the Knights of Tegrid have a duty to protect the balance between nature and society, oversee disputes as a neutral party, and protect and serve the citizens of Charon." Blue recalled as much as they could of what Cassandra had told them and repeat it for Cronan.

After a while, they were finally over the shores of Dragon's Cradle and Blue glanced behind them At Cronan to see if he was alright. It had been a long journey, and holding on to their back the whole time must have been tiring. They decided now would be a good time to land and take a break before flying the rest of the way. That, or start walking there on foot.

When they touched down, Blue waited for Cronan to dismount and then transformed back into their humanoid form, redonning their armor. They turned to him and held their arms out at their sides.

"Welcome to Dragon's Cradle!" They announced cheerily.

Cronan was undergoing some pretty severe mental whiplash from how casually Wolfe would say the most concerning things, such as 'It sometimes rains acid'. This person was a complete enigma that Cronan couldn't wrap his head around.

He got his answers easily, and acknowledged that he understood them with a simple "Interesting," or "How peculiar."

During the flight, Cronan hadn't moved much, other than to adjust his grip and footing. He'd look around but nothing more than that. Once they landed, Cronan dismounted easily and stood tall, as if he hadn't been in the most uncomfortable position for numerous hours. 

Cronan didn't have muscles that got tired, but they did get tired from mana drain. To combat that, they simply needed to enter an inactive state for a few hours. It could be described as sleep, but it was more akin to putting a computer on sleep mode; Cronan would still respond to external stimuli during their rest as if they were simply standing there. Cronan hadn't actually 'slept' yet, so how he knew this was beyond him.

"Dragons Cradle seems.. quaint," he says after a moment of looking around. "Where is this Astrid you've spoken about? I am quite eager to meet her." He says, his tone not quite portraying the eagerness he says he's experiencing. Truthfully, he really is quite eager, but he hasn't quite wrapped his head around verbal tones to portray emotion just yet.

Cronan awaits a response, looking around at the landscape around the pair. Cronan thinks he'll come to enjoy sightseeing in the future.

"The quaintest!" Blue nodded, agreeing wholeheartedly without knowing what quaint actually meant, but assuming it was a compliment of some kind. It sounded like a compliment, and Cronan didn't seem like he'd just go and insult their home. Yeah, quaint was a good thing, for sure.

"Astrid's at home. Probably. Hmm..." Blue put a hand to the chin of their helmet. You know, they actually didn't know if she was even there or not. They'd completely neglected to check and make sure. She might not even be in Dragon's Cradle for all they knew. They'd better check!

Blue activated the magic hood that lined the inside of their helmet, allowing them to communicate with someone else so long as they were wearing the same magic hood. Astrid had her own hood, so they could contact each other even from different regions. It was perfect for asking where the other was so they could meet up or know if something important happened. Now was a perfect time to make use of it.

"Hey Astrid, are you home right now?" Blue asked, holding a finger to the side of their helmet for no reason in particular. That was their whole message. No explanation, no asking for permission to bring Cronan, no telling her they were bringing him, just asking if she was home or not. It took a moment for Astrid's response to come through directly n Blue's mind.

"Aye, I ain't gone nowhere since we dragged that sorry noble back ta Sky Peak. Why? Ya wanna go do somethin' when ya get back?"

Blue turned to Cronan and gave a thumbs up. "Yup, she's home! Well, let's get going the rest of the way there."

Blue didn't wait, immediately going and transforming into a giant bird once more. Flying would be the fastest way to get to Sky Peak Village, especially considering it was on top of a mountain. They completely forgot to respond to Astrid's question before the hood deactivated and needed time to recharge its magic. Oh well, it would be more fun to surprise her with their new friend anyways.