Yoshi looked around at her. "It's not?"

"Did I not say?" Shinobu crouched down to lower the stack of books into an open chest that sat near the kitchen entry. That done, she straightened up, and made a little somewhat-celebratory gesture. "I'm going on sabbatical! After 70 years, the University is letting me put aside my bestiary project for a while."

"Oh!" Yoshi looked shocked. "Erm...congratulations! B-but I thought the bestiary was your life's work?? And you haven't even interviewed Hawk yet!"

"Oh, Vlad tells me that Hawk isn't ready to talk about 'all that stuff' yet," Shinobu said dismissively, managing to make air quotes with her paws. "And if he really is half reifa, it isn't as though he'll die before I can interview him, eh?"

She stepped past a folding screen that separated off part of the room, which seemed to comprise of a slightly lower area full of oversized and haphazardly scattered cushions and blankets, and a back wall which was full of packed bookshelves. For a moment she stood among the cushions and surveyed the bookshelf, her back to Yoshi.

"It's just as well," she reflected after a while. "I've been feeling a bit restless. Working on the same thing for 70 years without rest...even sheer passion cannot fuel one forever, I think. Perhaps some time away will stoke the flame before it goes out."

She began plucking books down from the shelves. Yoshi had followed to the edge of the cushion-filled area and now stood, pulling at her shirt collar a bit.

"Ah, I'm sure it will," she agreed. "So! Er...you're going on vacation, then?"

Shinobu turned around with another stack of books and a grin. "Oh, no," she said brightly. "I'm beginning an entirely new project!"

"Ah."