After giving him a startled blink, she replies, "No. All animals have wild magic--it's how I can talk to them and such--but they aren't mages. As for the Badger..." she shrugs. "Sometimes he visits me in my dreams, and sometimes he actually shows up. He looks like a normal badger, except his claws are silver." He smells like a normal badger, too--something she doesn't always much appreciate, considering what badgers eat. "When he talks to me, he sounds like any of the People would, but he can talk to other humans, too, which is something a normal badger couldn't do."

She hesitates for a moment, then adds, "I'm pretty sure he listens to prayers--at least from badgers." But he hasn't been able to hear hers, as far as she can tell. Granted, that isn't too unusual--he's always shown up when he wants to and without much regard for what she'd prefer--but it's still discouraging.