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Myrika is by me!
Sparrow took a moment to process what the tawny woman said, and Myri reflected on her explanation, worrying at it. Perhaps it was inadequate and she had just irrevocably damaged Sparrow's ability to ever understand books and reading; perhaps she had just disinterested the woman for life, depriving her of all the magic, wonder, and knowledge between the pages. At long last, however, the yellow-eyed woman spoke, and the closeness with which she grasped for the spelling of Myri's own name astonished the mahogany-haired woman.
That was really close,, she marveled, both ears perked upwards in intense curiosity. M-y-r-i-k-a, but names are pretty hard. Start with something simple... like -- dog, the woman proposed. When Sparrow inquired on the means of finding books, the tawny woman considered, and finally stood, moving over toward one of the shelves. She squatted in front of it and ran a finger over the wood of the shelf, removing a layer of dust as she did so. See these? These are all really thin books. Kid's books, she said, not wishing to be dishonest with the woman. They're the easiest to learn, though, because the words are small and simple. A baby book about the alphabet would be the best to start with, I think, she said, taking one of the thinnest and sturdiest books on the lower shelf with her.
When I was learning to read, I didn't start off with books like this. Here she stood and pulled a thick volume from the top shelf, waved it at Sparrow with a grin, and replaced it carefully on the shelf. She returned to Sparrow and held up the child's book. This has all the letters there are. Well, she paused. Kind of. All the letters for our language. But -- um, that's really complicated, and it might only confuse you for now -- and I'd have to read about languages a little myself, I don't really understand them either. She was rambling a little now, but it was actually fun to explain these things.
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