Shitakibo and her companions busied themselves for days cleaning her home and preparing it for an extended research session. She had been pondering joining the Mage's Guild for a while, and enjoyed the benefits of being a part of the Winged Expeditionary Force quite a bit. Perhaps access to further magical research, alongside their knowledge of spells and arcana would help her improve her own magic. While it was difficult to find someone else with similar interests, a few fellow adventurers had steered her towards someone know as Beist. She sent the letter off via a messaging service, and had been furiously preparing for the day they'd arrive.
Every one of her companions was at least slightly magical in nature, but Yukina, Kamina, Shion and Hanehiko were the four she thought would be most appropriate to write more official documentation about. A short discussion with each to make sure they'd be okay with a stranger's scrutiny, and they got to work preparing one of the larger buildings. Several magical lights were moved into the room and it was set up like an observatory, complete with a metal plated wall for safety and targets of varying size to focus abilities on and observe their effects.
Everything was in order, now all she could do was wait for Beist and any companions they chose to bring along.

Beist had been surprised, but delighted to receive a letter asking him if he'd like to conduct some research together on some of the magical animals he and this "Shitakibo" called companions. The two had never met, but they apparently were both members of the W.E.F. He was happy to hear of another person who had a fondness for both magical creatures and scholarly pursuits. On top of that, the research would be presented to the Mage's Guild as part of their application to join. He'd been considering joining them. With the advancements in Arkanatek recently, he'd been very curious. It would also mean expanding his connections which he'd found increasingly wide since becoming a member of the Golden Consortium and the Winged Expeditionary Force. Of course, he immediately replied that he'd love to and would be on his way soon.

Just outside the entrance to Taki's home, the Spirit's Retreat, fitted with a glass structure on the top like a miniature greenhouse toward the front, and with a shuttered window on the side with a counter, an enormous wagon pulled up, drawn by a huge Griffon. Holding the reigns in the driver's seat was... a monkey?

The monkey was fairly on the large side, standing about four feet tall with a thicker than might have been expected build. It also had grey fur and greenish blue skin on its face, but most strange of all was that it had two pairs of arms and horns and was wearing clothing that would have fit perfectly on someone's grandpa. A sweater vest over a buttoned shirt and brown pants with a leather belt, all of which seemed perfectly tailored for it, including holes for the extra arms and the oddly thick tail. And finally, the monkey happily leapt off of the driver's seat and waved.

"Hello there! Oh, I hope I'm in the right place. Is Shitakibo here?"

---

Bringing Pets
Griffon (Sleigh Bell)
Woolful (My Best Friend)
Mephit (Stables)
Snow Owl
Raccoon Dog

Amplified Shape Change

"TAKI!! TAKI!!" Called the Flitten Rina from the other side of the house. She looked up, then walked to the entrance and slid the simple door open wide. She was greeted by a strange looking being, astride a carriage of fine make that was drawn by a Griffon of all things. Taking a moment to gather herself, she walks out into the balmy daylight. Her bright blue, leaflike scales seemed to shimmer with hints of a brilliant green, her crimson eyes not quite so narrow and sharply slit which gave her an owl-like gaze. Her garb today was lightweight but covered her torso and forearms in a simple Haori that had bamboo toggles down the front, and the Hakama she wore was patterned in a fashion similar to an Orchid that grew in her garden. She waved with a three fingered hand to the rider.
"Welcome to Taikyaku-no-Seishin, or Spirit's Retreat. I am Shitakibo, or Taki if you prefer. How may I help you?" Greeted the shaman in her usual drawn, hissing accent. She was still adjusting to her latest changes and it had brought back the strange tone while she adjusted. Her companions all gathered around, flying, slithering or trotting their way over from the various buildings and features of her home. In all, their were seven, from tiny Flitten Rina, to Hanehiko the Celestial Manta that cast a shadow over the group with her immensity while she lazily hovered above them with slow sweeps of her fins.

"Ah, it's a pleasure to meet you, Taki! I am Beistmild, but please call me Beist. I received your letter proposing a joint research of our magical companions." Beist replied, looking around at all of the beautiful creatures that accompanied Taki from her home to greet him.

He was impressed by the number and variety of creatures with her. He looked up as the shadow of the celestial manta loomed over the group. The home itself was also impressive. There was a beautiful garden. He hoped to have a wonderful garden of his own when his home was finished being refurbished for him and all of his own animal companions.

"Ah, my apologies. Were you not prepared for my arrival? I sent a letter in response to yours, but perhaps I beat it here. I was just very excited to begin, I left almost immediately after sending it. I just had to find out which of my companions wanted to come with me." Beist apologized sheepishly, scratching the back of his head.

He walked over to the back of the wagon and opened it up. With his short height, he had to jump up to grab hold of the handle, but he managed it fairly easily. With the doors of the wagon opened, several creatures emerged, varying in size and species. A large green woolful stepped out with a little brown raccoon-dog on his back, a purple and yellow fox ran out, and a large fluffy white cat with pale blue and white wings like a moth's emerged last with a lazy stretch and a yawn.

"Ah, these aren't all of my companions, but I didn't want to force any of them to come if they didn't want to."

She smiled for a moment, but had been so wrapped up in getting everything ready that she probably hadn't checked her message box in some time. She understood the excitement and was ready for Beist and his companions but wasn't expecting them at any particular time. As he began to unload his companions, her heart felt like it fell into her toes. Tears welled up in the shaman's eyes as the group poured out into the courtyard. She sank to her knees, folding her hands together and babbling softly to herself in Druidic. Losing Kurobe had been difficult, and was still a fresh wound upon her psyche. She missed the fluffy, reliable beast of blue, white and pink fur... more than she had taken time to realize or grieve for.

Several of her companions immediately rushed to her side, all curling up or leaning against her. It took a few minutes for her to collect herself from the stark reminder of her own failings, and the loss of a dear friend. When she did, she wiped her face against the sleeve of her coat and picked herself up. "Thank you all" she said to her companions, then turned to Beist. "My apologies Beist, I recently lost a companion and your lovely green friend reminds me of that day in a way I've been too busy to really deal with as of late..." Her voice still shaky, she did her best to wrestle her spirit back to the task at hand. She took a deep breath, then let it out slowly to center herself.

"Rina, Shion, Keiga, the three of you are welcome to go about your day and rest. The rest of us have research to get started, and company to keep. Shall we begin?"

Beist was incredibly worried when Taki suddenly broke down crying. He hadn't expected that at all. What did he do? Had he accidentally said something something? Was she that upset that he'd arrived before she was prepared, or that he didn't bring all of his companions with him? What did he do wrong? He just stood there, awkwardly fumbling with his arms, not know what to do while Taki cried and was comforted by all the animals around her. Beist also noticed a purple and yellow fox had snuck his way into the group cuddle. Well, he wouldn't say anything about that if she didn't.

He was sed to hear her explanation. Even if it wasn't caused by anything he'd actually done on purpose, he felt horribly guilty. He looked back to Leon, the fluffy green Woolful, and then looked back to Taki. He understood. He would feel horrible if anything happened to Leon, or any of his companions. It would leave a void in him he didn't think he'd ever be able to fill.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't know. My deepest condolences. I'm sure your lost companion was lovely. I understand how you feel, I'd be beside myself if anything happened to any of my own companions as well." Beist apologized somberly, bowing his head.

Leon also looked guilty. Beist walked over to him and rubbed his head comfortingly. "It's not your fault." He whispered. He wasn't sure if sending Leon away would help any. He could ask him to stay in the wagon, or put him in the special charm, but the thought of that made him feel guilty as well. He didn't want to leave Leon out for something that was no fault of his own.

When Taki dismissed several of her companions, the fox started to scurry off as well.

"Moe, I didn't hear her say your name." Beist said with a mixture of authority and amusement. The fox stopped and looked back, a tongue sticking from his mischievous smile playfully before he came scurrying back to Beist and his group.

"Little rascal." Beist chuckled before going over to Dora and unbuckling her harness. Like the doors, he was a bit short for such a task, but managed to climb up onto the griffon's back to do it. When she was released, he climbed back down and stood before Taki.

"Please allow me to introduce my companions. This little rascal is Moe. This is Sorbet, Awd, and Dora." He said, pointing to the fox, cat-moth, raccoon-dog, and griffon in turn. Then he looked to the woolful with a bit of hesitation. "And this is Leon."

Taki smiled, bowing slightly to each of the creatures as Beist introduced them. "Please don't fret, you brought the companions you wished and had no way of knowing such a thing. You're all welcome here in our home, so feel free to explore if you like. I keep a variety of snacks in the boxes inside each entrance you're all welcome to try." She said, taking a turn with each of his companions in turn to give them a pat. Afterwards, she strode through the large sliding door with her companions in tow.

Inside the building, there were magical lights along the ceiling and pillar supports, with a table just inside the door with writing utensils and simple notebooks to write in. Between the supports were large spaces with bedding and water trouphs for all to rest as the pair worked on their research. "Use whatever you like to take notes and make illustration. If you'd like, we can compare and contrast our observations as we go to be more thorough. I look forward to learning with you all." Taki said, picking out a pencil and one of the notebooks.

Walking near the center of the room, she looked to the collection of wondrous creatures that surrounded the room. "Beist, as our guest, you're welcome to choose whoever you'd like for getting us started." Taki said, trying to shift the mood away from her earlier outburst.

Beist and his companions walked along. following behind Taki. With her permission to explore granted, Moe was gone lone before the group made it close to the building. Awd happily took a scoop of the snacks from the box as they passed it.

"You have a lovely home." Beist mused idly as he looked around. Along with his appreciation for magical creatures, he also greatly enjoyed plant life and the beauty of nature. The garden was wonderful and he saw something to take some inspiration from for what he'd like his own garden to look like. Some boxes of food in places for his animal companions was a nice idea.

When Taki began speaking of research and writing, Beist held up a hand.

"Ah, before we begin, I do want to admit something. I'm not sure what you might have heard about me from other members of the Expedition regarding my appearance, so it may have been a bit confusing. This isn't what I truly look like. I've just taken to using this form while travelling, to make myself much less of a weight for Dora to have to pull and to be, well, less... intimidating. I didn't mean to deceive you or anything. My true form is just rather large. My apologies." He said with a slight bow before continuing. "You should know that I also have one more companion with me, but he refuses to be researched, so he won't be taking part in any of the studying. He'll just be here with me. Pretzels."

With that, a tiny white snake with gold-feathered wings poked out from the thick scruff of fur around Beist's neck. He didn't stay revealed for long before retreating back into the fur and disappearing.

"If all of that is alright with you, I'm ready to begin. Perhaps we should start with one of your companions. Mine are a bit tired from the journey here."

"They only gave me a name and a recommendation Beist, and don't worry, you're welcome to relax and take whatever form is most comfortable while you're here. Yukina, shall we begin dear." The snowy owl hopped down from her perch, landing in the center of the room with a casual and relaxed demeanor. Taki began taking down notes, using the unsharpened end of her pencil to point out not only basic parts of Owl anatomy, but the differences between her and the average owl one might find anywhere else. After finishing, they moved outside and Taki instructed her companion to demonstrate her magical abilities. On a mostly barren strip of land near the river, the owl swooped from above and cast her first spell. The area was blanketed in a heavy covering of snow in a matter of moments as she banked away into the sky for another pass. On the second, the snowy area intensified and became a full on hailing blizzard that battered the frost covered land.

"There you have it, all that can be observed about the Snowy Owls of Charon." She concluded as Yukina returned. The group moved back inside to finalize their notes and begin with the next set of observations.

"Thank you, then I'll take my usual form." Beist replied happily.

He let the magic keeping together his animal transformation fall away, and his body began to rapidly grow and change. Many features of the monkey remained similar to what he was becoming. The grey fur, the greenish blue skin, the extra arms. But, where the monkey form had just been mildly on the large side for a monkey, Beist's real form was absolutely massive., standing over 15 feet tall with a broad, muscular build and a thick tail like that of a Lizardfolk or Draconynh. He looked like a mix of many things. Scales, fur, skin, horns that started to branch like antlers. Chimeric might have been an appropriate word to describe him. Of all the things between his monkey form and his true form though, his eyes looked exactly the same. Bright green eyes with years of wisdom behind them and wrinkles and bags around them.

Amazingly, Beist's clothing also grew and changed to continue to fit him perfectly.

"Oh, that does feel better. It's not uncomfortable a form to take, but it does take a bit of my concentration to maintain. I'm happy that I've become able to maintain it for quite a while though."

Beist stretched his back and then sat down with the largest writing utensil and pad he could find and observed the snowy owl's magic. It was beautiful.

"Amazing. Very similar magical abilities to one of my owl companions. Very interesting to see two incredibly different creatures evolved to have practically identical abilities." Beist spoke out loud as he wrote his observations down. "Hm, maybe I should have stayed a monkey. Writing is so much harder at this size... Ah, but it's alright. Anyways. Sorbet." He muttered and then called to the moth-cat who was lying down nearby. She rolled over, pretending to ignore him.

"Well, she is tired. Maybe she can show her abilities after a bit more rest. In the meantime, I'd hardly call that everything that can be observed about any creature. Have you collected any of their shed feathers? We could test them for possible uses in potions or magical objects. Oh, I have many ideas. How about we continue by measuring just how fast the snow owl is capable of turning a boiling pot of water to ice?"

Beist could think of any number of tests to perform, and would perform all of them if he'd had enough time. But, he didn't want to overwhelm Taki or any of her companions. He came at this research with the perspective of not only a friend and appreciator magical creatures, but also as an alchemist. His own companions knew this well and Taki and hers would learn this.

"Unfortunately, it takes her a while to recharge the use of said abilities. They are strong, but kept as a means of turning the tides of a battle or escape in our case. Otherwise, she's an excellent scout and night time lookout." She replied as Beist finished shifting. Yukina flew through the barn door and perched on a post while snacking on a treat. Taki looked up at the big fuzzball and wondered how they would fight, what magics they'd learned... but that wasn't the subject of their study. She called her other companions forward one by one, and began discussing what she knew of them and their abilities. Taking notes on each, the shaman did her best to compare notes with Beist as they went along.

Once each of them had taken a turn, they would go rest and have a snack around the edges of the barn. The only one left was Hanehiko, who was far too large for most buildings in general. "Let's step outside and we can take a look at Hanehiko. Sadly she's too big to come inside, but she is a very free spirit so it suits her just fine." She said to her research partner. She let out a soft whistle and the Celestial Manta came soaring from the spring that fed the falls. Water rained down over the garden as the big creature rolled and banked through the air. Taki chuckled softly, seeing Rina pop up dripping wet and just glare at Hanehiko.

Beist enjoyed the research, studying each animal with fascination. He proposed all sorts of tests, though never anything that would cause harm to any of Taki's companions. His interests, of course, also included alchemical properties for different parts of the creatures that they could lose without being harmed. Fur, shed scales, dropped feathers, nail clippings, and the like. His notes went into depth on such details, sometimes getting sidetracked by random thoughts and tangents, but he always got all of the information they'd acquired down.

Beist was happy to go outside to see the celestial manta. Partway through the research, he had chosen to transform back into a monkey to make the writing a bit easier. It also made it a lot easier for him to pass through doors. He could really relate to the manta's inability to fit inside buildings.

"Oh my, what a majestic creature! Incredible. She's so large they might even be able to lift me in my normal form." Beist said, looking up with wonder.

Taki chuckled softly, rolling out a target for the manta to lash with her thick, spiked tail. As Hanehiko banked and twisted in the air, she came around and snapped her tail at the target, which burst into a cloud of dust and hay. The sound it made echoed off the trees, cracking like thunder as the spiked tip curled about. Afterwards, she settled just above the ground as the pair walked around and made further observations. As they finished, the sparkling creature spun about and dove into the river to go relax.

She strolled back inside, filled a cup with water and fetched a snack for both herself and Beist. She did her best to ensure their notes were consistent as they were eating, comparing and contrasting the different outlooks in an effort to make things as accurate as could be.

"So Beist, tell me more about your companions. How did you meet them? In what ways do they assist you in your adventures? What magic and abilities do they have beyond what a more mundane creature would?" Inquired the shaman, who was eager to learn more about the menagerie of new spirits that were visiting her home. Perhaps, she would call her Guardians later... though they weren't strictly the kind of subjects being studied, they were a fascinating and wonderfully invaluable pair to her. 

"Of course. It's only fair for me and my companions to share now, isn't it? Let's see, who to start with..." Beist said, looking at the assortment of magical creature accompanying him. He wasn't sure who Taki would find the most interesting since she had such fascinating companions of her own. Sorbet probably had the most magical ability, but it was very similar to the snow owl's. Next was Leon, but if Taki had had her own Woolful, she probably already knew what they were capable of. He also didn't want to remind her of her loss again. He settled on the purple and yellow little fox that thought it was sneaky enough to stalk away into the bushes.

"Moe, let's start with you." Beist said and the fox looked back with a mischievous smile again, his tongue sticking out and a high pitched snicker. Moe at least listened when Beist told him directly to do something. He trotted over and sat down.

"Moe here is a small sort of lightning elemental, referred to as a Mephit. He can emit a field of electricity that can deflect projectiles and keep him safe from harm. It's not strong enough to actually shock anything though. It doesn't do damage to anything except maybe your hair styling." Beist explained seriously and then chuckled at his own joke. Dora, the griffon, rolled her eyes.

"I'll demonstrate." Beist added, picking up a pebble from the ground and looking at Moe. "Are you ready?"

Moe let out a bark of confirmation. The air suddenly felt statically charged around the fox and a slight buzzing noise sounded out. Beist lightly tossed the pebble at Moe, but before it could come into contact with the fox, it suddenly and unnaturally veered to the side and missed entirely.

"He can do this twice before the magic ends and he has to create a new static field. That's the current extent of his powers. Now, let's move onto the alchemical applications I've discovered for his fur and claws! They're quite useful as an elemental catalyst for potions involving lightning, both defensively and offensively...." Beist started to drone on, writing notes down and explaining his discoveries so far and what he hoped to do here.

Taki blinked, doing her best to note the information as Beist explained it. She wasn't an alchemist herself, so she didn't understand the fascination but at least he seemed respectful of his companions and not the type to force experimentation on the unwilling. She took as many notes as she could track, as well as making her own observations. Moe's protective field reminded her of an ability of similar nature her mentor had. The spell had proven invaluable when they were teaching the shaman about the disciplines of marksmanship.

As this was going on, she couldn't help but smile at the gathering of curious spirits from all around the surrounding forest. It wasn't a common occasion to have visitors that stayed for very long, so she understood the fascination and did her best to not get distracted by them all.

She thought of a wonderful question to ask, but figured that one was best saved for after they'd gone through the observations. After all, a part of their goal according to the Guild's requirements was to glean some information about the often mysterious and little understood Mystical Archives. While she had a bit of experience with it's items, she wasn't sure it was right for her to adopt companions in such a way. All her other companions had been rescued from a bad situation of some kind or gifted to her by a close friend. Something about such a transaction hadn't sat well, so she focused on gaining other things that weren't available to her at common shops. Much like the guilds of Charon, she wasn't strictly there for the goods and services offered but the opportunity to help others and gain new experiences.