smallts

[alicornucopia]

Nika is impatient for everybody to come home already so she can show them her new stuff and Miles can show them that he can walk if he learns now and Ivan can - well, Ivan doesn't really have much to show for the trip, what kind of altly help is 'don't try aged fish, you won't like it' - well, Ivan can be a firebird, that's something. Ivan can tell them that he is a firebird. Except he doesn't seem to have been pleased about it. Well, whatever, Nika will let him show the grownups about... pens. Wait, if she let him do that, she would not be able to use her pen in the intervening time in case the grownups arrived. Oh well. Ivan will not get to do anything interesting. Maybe that will be okay with him. If he wanted interesting things to show off he should have done more magic bar stuff.

So Nika waits by where she expects grownups to come in, and she reads about magic on her pen.

Comments

[washed_in_blood]

Miles is not sufficiently patient to mimic her strategy. He gets Bothari to call his mother.

"Ma'am. You should come home. It's Miles - he's not hurt, but - you should come home, ma'am."

This is not the explanation Miles would have produced if he'd been in charge, but it seems to be inexplicably effective.

[greatcomposure]

It definitely gets Cordelia to go home immediately.

[alicornucopia]

Where Nika is waiting!

"Hi Mama! We went a magic place and got stuff there. You should let Bothari take Miles out of his braces now, the magic people fixed him. Also there's a letter for you."

[greatcomposure]

...well.

"Where is the letter? And where is the Sergeant? Was he with you when you went to the magic place?"

[alicornucopia]

"It's on my pen," says Nika. "Gimme a sec. Bothari came with, he had to carry Miles in." Nika finds and pulls up Cordelia's letter on her pen and then offers the device to her mama.

[greatcomposure]

...Cordelia examines the pen. And the letter.

"And where are Miles and Bothari now?"

[alicornucopia]

The letter is moderately long and has several attached items.

"This way," says Nika, hopping up to her feet, falling over, getting up more carefully, and walking to where Miles and Bothari are. "And Ivan came too but he didn't bring home anything interesting, his grownup was boring and just told him not to try aged fish because he won't like it, Ivan had the most boring grownup."

[greatcomposure]

She glances at the first few lines - enough to see that it's addressed to her, and references another letter given to Sergeant Bothari - and then follows Nika.

"So you and Miles and Ivan and Bothari all went to the magic place? Who did you meet there?"

[alicornucopia]

"I had grownups and Miles had grownups but I think one was gone doing other stuff and Ivan had one really boring grownup and there might have been somebody else who was also off doing other stuff, I was mostly paying attention to my grownups."

[greatcomposure]

"I see."

She doesn't quite, but she thinks she can probably get the details out of poor Bothari if she can get him calmed down.

[alicornucopia]

"And we brought back a lot of stuff. That pen is mine, you have your own one."

[greatcomposure]

"Does mine also have this letter on it?"

[alicornucopia]

"I dunno, I didn't look at yours. Probably. It's for you. I read it though. While they were writing it."

[greatcomposure]

"I need to talk to Sergeant Bothari, and then I want to read the letter, and then I will give you back your pen," she says.

[alicornucopia]

"Okay."

And here is where Nika last saw Sergeant Bothari.

(Ivan is sitting on the floor, playing with some of his toys by himself. He waves at Aunt Cordelia.)

[greatcomposure]

"Hello, Ivan. Nika told me you went to a magic place," she says.

[alicornucopia]

Ivan nods.

"I found it, and I got Nika, and she got Bothari to bring Miles."

"And his grownup is boring," Nika says.

"He was nice! We played whirligig. And he said I don't have to turn into a firebird."

[greatcomposure]

"I need to talk to Sergeant Bothari. Do you know where he and Miles went?"

[alicornucopia]

"Yeah," says Ivan, "that way."

[greatcomposure]

"Thank you."

She goes that way.

[washed_in_blood]

It's not hard to find Miles and the sergeant.

He's not looking so good. But when he sees Cordelia, he looks at her with raw hope.

[greatcomposure]

"Hello," says Cordelia.

"You need to let me out of this thing now, the magic blood from the magic place fixed me," insists Miles.

"I will take you to a doctor to check that in a little while," she says. "But first I want to talk to the Sergeant. It's very important."

"Fine," Miles grumbles.

"Sergeant, will you come and sit with me over here?"

[washed_in_blood]

"Yes, milady."

He pulls the letter out of his pocket and offers it to her. "I have this for you. From - from―" He breaks off, shakes his head, silently brandishes the folded paper.

[greatcomposure]

"Thank you," she says, taking it from his hand and unfolding it.

Well. That's... that's something.

She reads it through. Then she looks up at Bothari.

"Did you meet... another Miles, in the 'magic place'? Did he give you this letter?"

[washed_in_blood]

"...Yes, milady."