They sat at the table now with fresh cups of hot drink, while neatly-looped skeins of the thread drip-dried on a railing nearby. Teige turned the notebook around to show Yoshi the triquetra drawn in the corner.

"The shape is used for lots of stuff on Earth," he explained, "but here it stands for unbroken knowledge, passed down generations from mother to daughter. My family's used it since the 5th century. Being able to change shape and keep our clothes has helped us stay hidden among humans all this time. It's let us survive. And it's one of the ways we keep our roots alive. A lot of the other stuff is gone now, or less so. Getting to go to Grandma's and learn to do this spell with your mum was almost as important as learning your first shape--"

He broke off, maybe realizing that he'd been going on more than he'd intended, or maybe because he had spotted the suddenly concerned look on Yoshi's face.

After a pause, she tilted her head and asked, "Is it really all right for me to learn this?"