Merwen looks at the feather with open curiosity, then back to Soldat's face. "This the sort of body covering on -- I do not know the word, but they fill the sky on Valedon. I have never seen a 'feather' up close like this. It is so intricate, in the way a leaf is, but grown from animal flesh rather than from a plant."

Her face is aglow with delight. This is an entirely new thing. "But why does the word 'plumage' only apply to this, and not to other body coverings or ornaments? You have so many words for these, and I have only one."