why is there a word for that

[alicornucopia]

Finnah's just arrived at work to open the store for the morning shift; she has her apron on but hasn't put her hair up yet. She lets in the customer who always takes half an angle to determine that he wants four buttercreams, again, and then nips into the back to tend to her hair and check the overnight progress of the rock candy.

This isn't the back.

But that -

No, he's too tall to be Mial, if this is a Mial prank it's a stupidly elaborate one.

"Okay, I give up," she says, "what the hell?"

Comments

[onceandforall]

"I wouldn't blame you. If the universe holds no appeal and they can't assassinate her soul gem for you don't let me stop you."

[thisvorlunatic]

"Saving people from monsters is well and good, but it helps if the first person you save is yourself," says Stalas. "And sometimes that means leaving."

[thisbrokenworld]

"Where to?"

[thisvorlunatic]

"Me personally? Nexus," says Stalas. "I'm sure you could come too if you liked."

"This is turning into a farcical parade," says Miles.

"That's not a no," says Stalas.

"It isn't," sighs Miles.

[middlingalong]

"It's really going to be a trick parading all these people out of Vivienne's parents' house without getting attention for it."

[thisvorlunatic]

"Yeah," says Miles.

"Alternately, you could come to Elcenia," says Mial. "I'm sure Mother would take you in. She does that."

[thisbrokenworld]

"So I have options," she says. "Good to know. What about the gem assassination? Between hitting it with a rock and throwing it into the sun, what other destructive options are available?"

[isthisart]

"Disintegrator. I can see if there's anything appropriate in the runecasting books."

[thisbrokenworld]

"Disintegrator sounds very promising."

[isthisart]

"There might even be a chute convenient to one or the other of the door options in Nexus."

[onceandforall]

"I think I'd want to at least ask furball before vouching for the harmlessness of interactions between a soul gem and a household disintegrator or a sun that's in use qua sun."

[thisbrokenworld]

"Well, do we want to ask furball?"

[onceandforall]

"We probably want to ask furball."

Bella heads for the door. The door disappears.

"...Um."

[thisbrokenworld]

"Somebody doesn't want us to ask furball, apparently."

[isthisart]

"It happened to Mark, too, but not for furball-related reasons; it might be something else."

[thisbrokenworld]

"Something such as what?"

[isthisart]

"Unclear, but Mark doesn't have a furball as far as I know, so it it not a phenomenon invariably related to furballs."

[onceandforall]

"Furball won't talk to boys or anyone who passes age eighteen without making a furball deal for magic powers, so I don't think Mark has a furball."

[thisbrokenworld]

"I don't contend that the phenomenon is invariably related to furballs, just that it is in this case."

[onceandforall]

"It does seem suspicious." Bella steps back from the door (it reappears), then approaches it again; the door continues to exist until she gets very close to it. "And now it seems more suspicious."

[thisbrokenworld]

"I wonder why the door is choosing to fuck with us in this way."

[onceandforall]

"Couldn't tell you."

[thisbrokenworld]

"Anyway. Now I have to decide whether to risk throwing Ghys's gem in the sun or whatever, or just fuck off to parts unknown."

[isthisart]

"Suns not in use qua suns are available, albeit inconveniently."

[thisbrokenworld]

"And anyway, if I get somebody throw it in the sun I can't be that sure that she's dead and nothing weird happened to make her instead not be dead."