FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

I've been sitting on this story for a while, but it's been hard to find the motivation to edit it because real life has been tough. Yet stories were meant to be told, so here it is. I'm again continuing the continuous trend where I think up a concept for a simple story, then I starting writing it and it keeps growing into the tens of thousands of words. It's long enough that I'm splitting it up into chapters, meaning m_y next few uploads will be a break from the clean, cuddly, slice-of-life Jarzyl stories. _

The title rather gives it away, doesn't it? (5,378 words)

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Reylin ignored the small inkpot that had been offered and took her own from a harness pouch. Uncapping her inkpot, the young drakka curled her tail around herself and dipped the tip into the black liquid before carefully dabbing off excess ink. Some dragons had enough manipulative skill with their forepaws to use a quill or other writing implement, but since dragons had dextrous tails, using a tail tip as an ink brush was by far the preferred method for writing

Focusing her gaze on the dense text, Reylin began reading through the various forms. "Hmm... This is my second time signing a real legally-binding contract. How exciting!"

Even without taking her eyes of the paperwork, Reylin heard Knaster chuckle. The young drake standing beside her leaned close to peer over her shoulder. "Is that sarcasm, or do you and I have vastly different ideas of what constitutes exciting?" he playfully murmured.

Reylin used her tail tip to poke Knaster's side, leaving a small ink mark on his midriff--a dab of black against his light grey scales. "Let me enjoy this moment. I'm feeling so grown up right now, getting to sign contracts in my own name. If you've got nothing else to do, why don't you help me find a loose scale to validate it? I think there's a scale on my left haunch that was going to be shed soon."

"Sure." Knaster got to his four feet and went to stand behind her. As was the case for every dragon, flat, thin, lightweight hexagonal scale plates covered Reylin's body all over in neat tessellating rows. Whereas Knaster's scales were light slate grey, Reylin had a darker grey colouration with faint green stripes on her sides under her wings, like bands of green lighting streaking through a darkened thundercloud. Each and every scale contained a minute network of blood vessels and nerves, which made them sensitive to touch so that a dragon could sense airflow in flight, but it also meant that scales contained enough living tissue to identify which dragon they had come from. And since scales were always in the process of being shed off and replaced, passing over an old scale was the standard method to officially confirm certain major transactions or contracts.

Reylin continued reading the contract, which set out terms and conditions for her residency here in the Taslin communal housing. There was dense, barely comprehensible text talking about legal rights and procedures, as well as a much more readable section on rules. Reylin took particular time to read over the rules to make sure she got them all, but they were fairly simple and straightforward--keep your apartment in good condition, don't interfere with other occupants, don't make excessive noise at night, and so on.

However, as much as she tried to stay focused, this task was somewhat complicated with the way Knaster was touching her. Running his paws over her body, he was searching for a loose scale in a normal, quick manner, yet Reylin still felt shivers run down her back. "Hmmrr..." She made a soft, rumbling, faintly pleased noise, and she shifted hindquarters backwards against him, even as she kept reading the forms. "Lower... lower... left side, right beside my tail. Oh yes, right there..."

Knaster let out a soft restrained laugh, and he obligingly followed her instructions until he found the scale plate she had been referring to. "This one?" he asked. That one scale was drier and rougher than the surrounding smooth scales, and Reylin could feel that it was numb to the touch.

"Yeah, that's the one. It was itching earlier. Good thing it didn't fall off already, or I would have to pluck out another scale that wasn't as ready to be shed. Just rub it off for me, would you?"

"You're asking me to rub you under the tail? In public?" Knaster jokingly asked.

If he'd been trying to embarrass her, he was to be disappointed. Reylin's response was to flick her tail, brushing it against his underbelly. "Just wait till you see what I'm going to do to you in private," she replied.

"Haha." Knaster laughed casually. Using his claws, he carefully scratched at the loose scale and picked it off from her skin easily, proving that it had been on the verge of being shed. By now Reylin had just about finished writing and signing her name on the forms, and she took her scale from him and slid all the paperwork back through the office window just as the clerk returned, carrying a large ring of keys in his jaws which he dropped onto the counter top.

"Here we go," said the drake. He took the forms from Reylin and checked she had signed them all, before slipping them into a paperwork tray on the desk. Then he pulled two different keys off the keyring and passed them over to her through the window. "Those are you keys. One is for the main apartment, which will be shared between five occupants, and the other is for your bedroom specifically."

"Ooh. Ok!" Reylin took the keys. They were tied to each other via a long, looping strap, which she put around her neck so the keys resting just over her chest. "Thanks!"

"You're welcome." Stepping to the side, the clerk pushed the office window shut before walking out through a doorway and into the corridor. "I'll show you around the hall's facilities, and then take you to your room. Follow me, please."

---

Reylin had been clanless for all of her life, right up until a few months ago when she'd joined Taslin--the same clan that Knaster was in, and now she was moving into clan communal housing. She was proud to be in Taslin, an apex clan large and powerful enough to control entire city sectors. Right now the two young dragons were in sector one, which was shared territory between the five largest dragon clans in the city, and this area was a Taslin neighbourhood. Specifically, they were now at a communal residential hall intended for fledglings and young drakken, mainly those who were students from one of the various schools in sector one.

The residential hall was a series of three apartment towers built in an uneven triangle. Each building was made from brown, weathered brick with regular rows and columns of windows marking out dozens and dozens of apartments. Most of the windows had curtains partially or fully drawn, and the whole hall was quiet and calm because it was still a while away from the academic term. Reylin's apartment was several levels up from the ground, and she eagerly scampered up the staircase ahead of Knaster and the office clerk, only to have to slow down when she got to the level and was unsure where to go.

"That way. That room over there," said the clerk, nodding his head down the corridor.

It took some fiddling around with the keys to get them lined the right way up with the keyhole, but then Reylin unlocked the door and pushed it open with her shoulder. "Oh, nice! How exciting..." She strolled into the apartment that was to be her new home, glancing all around to take it all in. This was student accommodation, sponsored by Taslin for younger clan members to learn independence as they made the gradual transition from fledgling to full adult, and Reylin couldn't keep the excitement skip out of her step.

Knaster followed after her, though he waited just past the doorway. The clerk from the residential hall's office also stuck his head into the apartment, and he gestured with a clipboard that had been attached to his flight harness. "Alright. You'll need to sign one last checklist. It's to confirm that you've taken a look around your apartment and that it is all in good shape. The furniture should all be here as listed, and ensure that there's no damage to the walls, floor, fittings, or anything else. We'll do regular checks, so please take basic care of your living space."

"I will take fantastic care of this place. It's so exciting, actually having a place that I just... I can just live in, all by myself!" Reylin sat herself down in the middle of the apartment and spread her wings up and open in a Y shape, absorbing the ambience of the place. It was all her imagination, of course, but this apartment bedroom felt like hard-earned freedom. It was a single room, rectangular in shape with a window overlooking the courtyard--in width it was just slightly smaller than Reylin's wingspan if she fully unfurled her wings, and about double that for length. The walls were clean and painted a plain white, while the floor was covered in grey carpet from wall to wall. It was reasonably furnished with a bed, a wardrobe, a small square chest that sat beside the bed, some empty shelves on the wall, and a desk that had a floor cushion to sit on.

Then Reylin remembered herself and spun around to stroll back to the door and take the clipboard from the clerk. She glanced over the checklist. "Wardrobe... check. Bed... yes, that's there. Chest? Oh, wow. I've never had a chest just to fill with my own stuff before! What's in here? Oh, it's the bedsheet. Window... seems fine." She glanced at Knaster and grinned. "This is so much fun!"

Knaster nodded encouragingly. He stepped forward, moving in from the doorway but still giving Reylin plenty of room to move and around her apartment. Though he kept his expression flat and neutral, Reylin knew Knaster well enough to read his body language, and she could tell that her friend seemed slightly disappointed. Reylin wasn't sure why--this apartment was everything she had dreamed of having. "Make sure to check that everything works," Knaster advised her. "Try opening the wardrobe or the windows."

"Oh, yes, good point." Reylin held the clipboard in her jaw, and leaned back on her haunches to grab the wardrobe handles. The hinges were quiet and smooth as she opened up the wardrobe doors and peered inside. "It's... empty. Huh. Great!" After closing the wardrobe, she then tried the windows, checking to see that they could be opened up--with the curtains pulled aside, there was a view down into the courtyard as well as the opposite apartment building and the residential hall's office, where they had just been a short while ago. Reylin stuck her head out of the window to take in a deep breath of the cool, autumn air. It was past the midpoint of the afternoon on what was a good day. Reylin let out a happy sigh, then she pulled her head back in.

The clerk had stepped back to the corridor and was now looking over some paperwork again, whereas Knaster was watching Reylin with an amused look as she resumed exploring the place. She meticulously checked out everything in her new apartment room, making sure that all was in order. She looked under the bed (not much there, just some dust), tested out the floor cushion to see if it was comfortable to sit on, and even reared up on her hindlegs and tiptoed to check the upper shelves and above to wardrobe to see if there was anything there (again, not much to see except for some dust).

"Everything looks good," Reylin decided after a few minutes. Again taking out her ink pot and putting it on the desk, the young drakka wet her tail and used her tail tip to scrawl ink marks on the paper, checking items off the list in quick succession. The text was printed small and faint enough to be hard to read, however, and she had to tilt the paper towards the window to catch some of the evening sunlight. "Hmm..." Reylin waved her wing at Knaster, gesturing for him to come over. "This word here is bin, right?"

Knaster squinted at the paper. "I think so?" Reaching out across the desk, he used his wingtip to jab at a pair of light switches.

There was a light strip attached to the shelf above the desk that lit up, and Reylin nodded her head approvingly. "Ah. Thank you." She continued reading the checklist and ticking items off, but Knaster frowned.

The young, grey-scaled drake tried both of the light switches again, then he glanced around the room and tried another light switch that was right beside the door. "The room light isn't working," he murmured, looking up at the ceiling, where a spiralling chunk of whitish crystal was embedded in a metallic conduit that should have connected it to the city's central energy grid.

"Oh. Is it not? Good catch." Reylin finished going through the list, making a small check mark beside everything except for one item that read, "Lights". Leaping to her feet, she squeezed past Knaster and trotted out to the corridor to speak with the office staff drake. "The lights don't seem to be working?"

"Is that so? The lighting coil must have burnt out. I'll get someone on the maintenance team to come fix that for you soon. Sorry about that. Everything else is in order?" The drake took the clipboard from Reylin and reattached it to his flight harness. "If there's nothing else, I'll just let you get settled in here. Welcome. You can always come to the hall office if you need any help in the future."

"Thanks!" Reylin said, and she bowed deeply. Knaster also nodded his head politely. The clerk did a quick bow of head in return before strolling away.

Reylin scampered back into her apartment before shutting the door. And then it was just the two of them, alone together once more.

---

"So how does it feel to--mhhhm!" Knaster got about halfway into his sentence before Reylin lunged at him. She slathered the side of his snout in affectionate licks, then pressed her mouth right against his in a kiss. The two young dragons embraced, sharing an intimate, romantic gesture that was also needy and urgent at the same time. They were well familiar with each other's bodies and Reylin just couldn't help herself, pushing against Knaster so she could savour the feeling of his scales pressing against her own just as much as she enjoyed the feeling of his snout against hers.

Reylin pulled back from the kiss for just a split second to murmur, with eyes half lidded, "This is very nice." She blinked her eyes open and made eye contact with Knaster, watching him stare right back at her with his calm, steady gaze. "You are the only person in the world I can do this with. I can talk with other friends, I can hug my sister, but I can't kiss anyone else--no one except you. Do you ever think about that? I think about that a lot, usually whenever I'm not kissing you." And then she was back at it, kissing him and pressing her body against his.

"I do... Mhhm. I do think about that." Knaster eagerly returned the kiss. "That's... this is one advantage of getting your own apartment."

"Mhm..." Reylin's reply was just another soft moan, and to kiss him harder so that his mouth was far too busy engaging with hers for him to talk any more.

Though they had been friends and both members of a study group together for far longer, it had only been a few months since that friendship had properly deepened into something beyond that. And yet in that time, they had both become acutely aware of the challenges of finding a private space for some intimacy. Kissing or hugging was all good and fine--you could do that in public as long as no one else was paying much attention, but anything beyond that demanded some privacy, and the City of Wings was a crowded place.

Before moving into this residential hall, Reylin had lived in a sheltered home for clanless young dragons. The dormitories there had few places where she and Knaster could get _friendly_with each other, away from the curious eyes of the other fledglings or hatchlings who lived there too, let alone the foster guardians who took care of them. Knaster's bedroom was a more valid option, but that was still restricted by any time his parents were home, which turned out to be frustratingly often despite the fact they both worked as clan wingleaders.

Knaster sat back on his haunches and wrapped his wings around Reylin to pull her close. She let out a pleased sigh, leaning against him and putting one paw on his shoulder. "Ahh, that's nice..." Her other paw brushed against his chest, then slid downwards with full intent to do something very indecent. Much as Reylin enjoyed kissing and hugging, she needed more than that. She moved her paw even lower towards Knaster's underbelly, where the neat rows of scales grew small and thin, making it easy to feel the tension in his abdominal muscles as he clenched his genital slit. From past experience with Knaster, Reylin had learned that kissing alone was easily enough to get her friend and partner aroused to the point of developing an erection, though apparently this was something that he could control by tensing up his slit muscles to avoid getting an erection in public.

From further experience, Reylin had also learned that if she just kept making out with Knaster long and intensely enough, there was a certain point after some minutes whereby his arousal would go beyond his ability to voluntarily restrain, and his penis would push out of his genital slit and engorge to full size regardless of how publically inappropriate this reflex might be. Reylin found that thoroughly amusing, whereas Knaster had found it embarrassing. Of course, Knaster could just relax his muscles if he wanted to, and Reylin had, through vigorous experimentation, figured out the easiest way to use physical contact to get her lover aroused as quickly as possible. Trying to be forceful or rough with her touch just didn't work. Instead her paw brushed over the young drake's genital slit, lightly massaging the sensitive flesh there. A gentle, teasing contact was all it took to get his muscles to relax.

With his eyes still closed and snout still pressed against hers, Knaster let out a groan and bucked his hips. Even without looking down, Reylin felt Knaster's genital slit split as his erection started to push outwards. Reylin instinctively moved to grip that warm, unscaled length of masculine flesh so she could rub it to full length, as if it even needed any further persuasion, but then suddenly responsibility reasserted itself and she snatched her paw away.

Blinking her eyes open, Reylin abruptly stepped back and pulled out of the embrace of Knaster's wings. He leaned forward to keep kissing her, but then he saw her hesitation and stopped as well. "Reylin? Something wrong?"

Reylin panted softly. She flapped her wings to get some air moving around them, for her scales felt warm even though the window was still open and letting in a cool, autumn breeze. "Wait, wait, wait. Hold. I... just... I... Knaster, we can't."

Knaster appeared mildly disappointed, but surprised most of all. "Oh. Uh... Ok, if you don't want to, then... alright. Are you not in the mood for it today?"

Reylin was very, very much in the mood for it. She had been holding eye contact with Knaster, but she couldn't help it--her gaze darted downwards. Knaster was reared up on his hindlegs, with neither his wings nor his forepaws obscuring any view of his underside. The young drake's erection was proudly protruding out from his underbelly--a sleek, tapering, clearly masculine organ that was more pinkish in colour than the surrounding grey scales. It throbbed faintly in time with his heartbeat, and Reylin could even see the glisten of pre-ejaculate wetting his genital slit and forming a small bead of liquid right on the tip. Just that sight made a shiver go down Reylin's spine, and she crossed both her fore and hindlegs.

Forcefully, deliberately, Reylin tilted her head upwards and stared at the ceiling instead. She felt extremely amorous at the moment, probably even more than Knaster did, even if his sexual arousal was more externally visible than hers. It had been days--days!--since the two young dragons had gotten the opportunity for some intimate contact beyond kissing, and Reylin desperately wanted to do all sorts of very naughty things with Knaster, yet responsibility demanded that she shake her head. "It's... I... I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have done that."

Reylin worried for a split second that Knaster might be upset over how she had gotten him aroused only to suddenly leave him unsatisfied, but her partner's response was a respectful, albeit confused, nod. "Uh, no problem." His neck frill twitched and he tilted his head as he stared at her, then suddenly he broke into a grin and laughed. "Hahaha. What was that? What was all that about? One moment we're kissing and you seemed all excited, then suddenly... why the sudden hesitation? Is it against the rules of this residential hall? I hope I didn't do something wrong."

"It's not you. You're the best. But I just... Uhhhh... Hmm. Let me think about this." Reylin shifted her weight between her paws, tapping them against the carpeted floor. Stepping backwards, she pulled on the release straps of her flight harness, which made the equipment slide off her body and onto the floor, along with all the cargo pouches filled with her various belongings.

Right beside her, Knaster was carrying even more cargo in his own flight harness. Those were all her belongings too, and at first Reylin had been very insistent that she ought to be carrying all of it herself--at least until she had tried to take off, failed, and then (after some shared laughter) agreed to let Knaster help her carry some of it. Neatly packed into various pouches attached to their flight harnesses, the two young dragons had now brought over almost everything that Reylin owned, a majority of which was just files, notes, books, and other schoolwork. She hadn't owned much, being clanless before.

Now no longer wearing her harness, Reylin flopped onto the bed. The bedsheet hadn't been put on yet, but she didn't mind. Lying down on her back, she rolled sideways to stare at Knaster while hugging the pillow tight against her chest. "It's... I don't know if I should tell you. I probably should. I don't know. It's kind of personal, but then you're also my best friend and we're in a lovely relationship so maybe I should be open about it. Should I?"

Knaster smiled that warm, charming smile that also had the weird, wonderful power to make all of Reylin's worries vanish. He reached for the straps of his own flight harness and took off his own gear, then he began unclipping pouches from both their harnesses and arranging them neatly on the table desk. "I don't know what you are or are not going to tell me, so I can't give you advice on whether you should tell me or not. If you did tell me, then I could tell you afterward whether or not you should have told me, but it would be too late for me not to know it, whatever it is. Hehe." With a chuckle, Knaster walked over to the bed and reached for Reylin--but not towards her underbelly, but instead to start patting her on the head and rubbing her neck frill down in a gesture that was deeply affectionate and delightfully familiar. "Good Reylin. You're my favourite dragon."

"Oh ho. Yes... Hmmr... hehehe... I'll be your favourite. Yes..." Reylin made another happy, rumbly noise from her throat, and she leaned into his touch even while her neck frill perked upwards. Her tail swished against the bed.

Knaster patted her on the head, then he glanced away and muttered something. "You're cute, but also so very..." The last portion of his sentence was too soft for Reylin to hear, making her raise her head slightly off the sheets.

"Hmm? What did you say?"

Knaster grinned again. Leaning in close, he placed a small lick on Reylin's forehead, kissing her right above her eyes. It was a gentle wholesome gesture, in contrast to his next few words. "I said: You're cute, but also so very_sexy_. I am extremely attracted to you right now, as always."

"Uggghhhhh..." Reylin felt like she was going to implode from a blend of adoration and lust. She curled herself into a ball, tucking in her tail and head while wrapping her wings around herself. Gritting her teeth, she shook her head before uncurling herself and sharing an amused grin with Knaster. Once more her eyes darted towards his underbelly--Knaster's erection had almost fully retracted back into his genital slit, but Reylin knew that she could easily get it back out if she wanted to. A little touch, or even another kiss, and then the two of them could have so much fun with each other, except that they couldn't. "Change topic, change topic! Don't talk about sex. Not today! We can't."

Knaster laughed again, but there was a twinkle of curiosity in his eyes. "Haha. Why not? I want it, and you want it, right? Ok, ok. We can talk about something else." Spreading his wings, he gestured around the apartment. "So what do you think of this place?"

"I love it!" Reylin rolled onto her belly and sat up. "I must say, it is so good to have somewhere to live that is all my own!"

"I'm glad you like it, and I'm really happy for you," Knaster replied warmly, but Reylin could hear the loaded statement.

"Hmm. You got a problem with this place?"

"No. It's just... well... hah." Knaster chuckled, and he gestured around. The room was rectangular in shape, and in the short side he could touch both walls with his wingtips without even fully opening his wings. "This room is tiny, isn't it?"

Reylin grinned, and she snatched up her pillow about to smack Knaster's side with it. "It's cosy! I like it!"

"It's cramped. I think the common hall facilities like the study lounges and the exercise rooms looked good, but this apartment itself is tiny! There's barely any floor space." Knaster did have a point. This apartment was just a single compact room, with most of the floor space already taken up by the furniture. To demonstrate, Knaster went over to the wardrobe and opened up the doors, and that alone made it a squeeze to get past them and to the bedroom door.

Reylin vigorously, playfully batted left and right at Knaster's side with her pillow. She was able to reach him even though he was standing next to the wardrobe and she was lying on the bed, which all but proved just how small her apartment room was. Regardless, Reylin's satisfaction with her new home was entirely unshaken. To her, it was a clear upgrade from what she'd had before. "That's just because your_parents are Taslin wingleaders and your house is so big! Your bedroom is easily..._three times as big as this apartment. I bet your bathroom is as big as this apartment."

In sudden motion Knaster snapped out his jaws and snatched the pillow out of her grip, tossing it aside. He advanced on Reylin and pushed the young drakka backwards onto the bed, and she just went limp, staring up at him as he leaned over her. Right now if he'd just gone and had his way with her, she wouldn't have objected at all, but instead Knaster simply gave her another pat on the head. "I'm glad you like your new apartment, and I think it's clearly a big accomplishment. As long as you're happy, that's the only important part."

"I am happy. I'm happy as long as I'm with you! Though I am also independently happy about the apartment, yes. Hehehe," Reylin giggled. "You saw the clanless shelter just an hour ago, when you were helping me pack up my things! You know what I've been used to. It is an upgrade even to have my own desk. This room has more personal space than I've ever had before in all my life, and it isn't a dormitory so I finally get my own bedroom. No more listening to other dragons chat noisily while I'm trying to sleep early, or being woken up in the middle of the night because the person in the bed beside mine had to go to the toilet and doesn't know how to walk quietly. It's a space that is all mine."

"It might not be fully quiet." Knaster used a paw to tap at the walls, which sounded like they were made of concrete or even polished stone. "It's probably quiet now because no one else has moved in. Once term time starts, you might hear the other students. I'm not sure how soundproof these walls are."

Reylin shrugged. "It'll still be quieter and more private than a dormitory." Rolling of the bed, she squeezed past Knaster and pushed the wardrobe doors shut so she could walk over to a small area right behind the bedroom door. "And look! There's even a mirror, and a sink, all just for me. I know that you've got your own bathroom attached to your bedroom so maybe this isn't new for you, but I've been living in a dormitory all my life. This is apex clan luxury right here." Reylin tried the tap, and she lapped at the stream of water as it poured into the basin. "No more having to wait in the morning before I brush my teeth or use the toilet. I have private facilities now."

Knaster chuckled. "Haha. Really? Would you seriously... go right into the sink? You wouldn't just use the bathroom down the corridor?"

Reylin playfully stuck her tongue out at him. She turned around and raised a hindleg, angling her underbelly as if she was going to relieve herself into the sink. "This is a good height for it. I will. I totally will. If in the middle of the night I wake up with a full bladder, I'm not going to mess around with unlocking and locking my door, then stumbling down the corridor just to go to the washroom there. I will totally use this sink. I will. It's my sink now. And all the sewage pipes connect together in the end anyway."

"Hahaha!" Knaster just laughed hard, which made Reylin laugh too.

"Haha. This is the best. I love being in a clan, and I love having my own bedroom apartment," she happily declared.

Strolling towards her, Knaster flipped open his wings to hug her. "I'm glad you're so happy about it. Congratulations."

"Thanks!" Reylin chirped in reply, leaning into his hug and putting her paws around his waist to pull him close. "Shall we take a tour around the rest of the place? I want to see the kitchen and the bathroom."

"Sure thing." Knaster leaned in and gave a short lick to the side of Reylin's snout. Such a gesture wasn't excessively friendly, and was a reasonable thing to do between family or close friends. However, when it was Knaster doing it to her, any physical contact made Reylin feel warm and comfortable.

Her neck frill perked up and she grinned happily, but she also glanced away and hid her head under her wing. "Nooo! Don't tempt me with affection! Not today. Kissing is dangerously tempting and is not permissible today. Hugging is barely acceptable, but for short periods of time."

Knaster had a barely restrained smile. "Why...?"

"Because!" Reylin shook her head, then she furled her wings back up. "I'll tell you after we look over the place. Let's go!" She pulled open the door and headed out, pausing only to make sure that Knaster was following right after her.

---

TO BE CONTINUED

I'll upload the next chapter in 2 or 3 days. In the meantime if you feel like reading more, maybe read the original story series Fledgling Study Group which first featured these two chatacters.