trade my soul for a wish

[from_scratch]

This is a successor to "call me maybe", which is getting crowded.

Cam is dipping a grilled cheese sandwich into a bowl of tomato soup when he feels the summons. He goes ahead and grabs it. Doesn't even drop the sandwich.


with Mark (kappa)

with Adanya (Aestrix)

with Sable (kappa)

with Ari (andaisq)

with Metella (kappa)

with Miles (kappa)

with Isabella (Eva)

with Steel (Rockeye)

with Daphne (Maggie)

with Edie (Maggie)

Comments

[from_scratch]

"But it's not falling behind, like we're flying away from it and it can't keep up, it's just disintegrating?"

[sturdycoldsteel]

"Yeah, it's just disintegrating. And adding to the fog in the ship, which is seeping outside the ship. That stuff outside is really thin but it isn't falling behind either."

[from_scratch]

"Okay. So... close to the planet, magic wants to stay stationary relative to the planet. Farther away from the planet, it wants that harder. Far, far away from the planet, it doesn't realize there is anything to want and sees no reason to behave at all. To anthropomorphize."

[sturdycoldsteel]

"I think it more wants to be stationary relative to the largest or nearest-by clump of physical stuff. Like... It seemed like it was trying to be stationary relative to our ship, but that effect lost to the planet's bigness. Can we land on one of the moons?"

[from_scratch]

"Sure." He fiddles with the instrument panel, and descends to the largest moon.

[sturdycoldsteel]

She does some stream on the way down. The moon behaves much like the planet: Once they get reasonably close to it, the stream starts drifting to the reverse of the ship's relative velocity.

Once they land, she builds some more things and glances at them between Italian practice once in a while. "My patterns are holding up better than they did in the middle of nothingness, but not as well as on the planet. This is starting to get tiring, though, I'm done testing things for now. Would you mind making me a nice, hot pastry?"

[from_scratch]

"Are you allergic to anything?"

[sturdycoldsteel]

"Hm. Not as far as I know, but I don't know all the things you might put in food to be allergic to."

[from_scratch]

"Probably safer if you're more specific so I can copy something you've had before, then. I can deal with an allergic reaction but I'm sure you'd rather I didn't have to."

[sturdycoldsteel]

"Indeed. How about a pear shortbread cake, filled with cranberry preserves. Made by 'The Orchard Bakery' at Opri, 382 Echo Street, 4th floor, Suite 3, if you need a specific example."

[from_scratch]

Pear shortbread cake with cranberry appears, complete with paper plate; he hands it over.

[sturdycoldsteel]

"Paper. Because it's disposable, right?" She takes a bite. "Ah, tastes like it's fresh from the oven. Thanks ever so. Any new hypotheses on the bluestream?"

[from_scratch]

"Maybe it just likes matter and life separately in different way. Planets and butterflies alike. Moon's smaller than a planet, spaceship is very little compared to either..."

[sturdycoldsteel]

"It seems like it likes sticking to matter, and life makes it. But hey, people have been trying to figure out what the bluestream is for centuries. Even with otherworldly knowledge and a damn spaceship, it's a bit impatient to think you'll figure it out in a day. Incidentally, I'm starting to get tired of not being able to make even little magic things stick around."

[from_scratch]

"Right, back down we go. I can probably find where we took off from, but you might want to help navigate when we're up closer." Up up and away from this moon.

[sturdycoldsteel]

Some of my stuff is still where we took off. Nothing private. You could land us closer to Opri and let someone else find and use it if you don't mind replacing it. Then again, may as well go get it because anywhere near the city will be harder to hide this thing. Where we took off is a fair bit to the west and a little to the north of where a certain canyon splits into two canyons. I'll point out the specific trail I was following when we get lower."

[from_scratch]

"Mm-hm."

Towards and down, down, down.

[sturdycoldsteel]

Italian practice! She speaks Italian (slowly and carefully, to pronounce everything right) when giving final directions.

"There is the Opri-Nel big road. I took a left two road past that house... Then I took the trail that passes the hill that looks like a lumpy pear... A-ha, I see the flat rock I made to test that spell." Point.

[from_scratch]

And Cam lands near the rock. When they have exited the ship, he considers it thoughtfully, then makes a tarp and a layer of sod that blends in with the landscape over it. "That should do for now unless it's obvious in bluestream or something."

[sturdycoldsteel]

"It's... Not obvious something's there. But it does look a bit odd, stream-wise. Maybe put a few bushes and flowers up and it'll fill in with insects and natural noise."

She notes the condition of her circle, how much it's decayed in the few hours since completing it. Then she starts packing up her gear and tent.

[from_scratch]

Flowers, copied from local incidents. Decorative shrub.

[sturdycoldsteel]

"Good enough. Let me destroy what's left of my thing enough that nobody can copy it."

She does that. "Time for a hike. Three miles until we're somewhere I can fly with the bluestream."

[from_scratch]

"Will it be conspicuous if I fly?"

[sturdycoldsteel]

"No. You have wings. Fully functional wings are pretty uncommon compared to cosmetic butterfly wings or something, and yours are an unusual design, but they're a known thing. I'm only walking because I don't trust myself to not fall out of the sky yet."

[from_scratch]

"All right then. Lead on. Have an Italian children's book." He presents her with a book, and then he takes off and takes his computer off his belt loop to read while circling over her.