exploratory kidnapping

[alicornucopia]

In this room are two women, one gray and sixty years old, one just thirty and red-haired, both wearing elaborate outfits. The younger casts a spell.

In this room is now also a third person. (On whom the elder woman promptly also casts a spell, which she had at the ready.)

Comments

[alicornucopia]

The littlest child of the vampire family takes a step towards Matilda, but First Dad catches her by the shoulder to stop her from approaching closer.

"What is it you want to do?" asks the middle kid.

[missnicegirl]

"Well, I want to figure out how the magic works that makes your lifespans change depending on what you eat, and then once I understand that I can probably figure out how to make it work differently so you don't have limited lifespans anymore," she says. "The figuring-out part won't look like much, I would just have to sit quietly and look at a vampire for a while to teach ialdae how to see whatever kind of magic you have, and then sit quietly and look at a vampire for another while to study it once I can see it."

[alicornucopia]

"Would things still taste right?" wonders the eldest child.

[missnicegirl]

"I'm not sure, but probably," says Matilda. "Because if the tasting is magic then I can figure out how it works and if it isn't then changing the magic probably won't do anything to it. Is the tasting magic?"

[alicornucopia]

"It's generally assumed to be," says the friendlier of the dads. "Look, we've got a limited time to go on our walk before I need to get back to work, but if you'd like to follow along I don't see why you can't sit in the living room and meet the family if that will help your research project." He smiles a politician-y smile; he's the only one in the family not in a suncloak.

[missnicegirl]

"Okay," Matilda says agreeably. "Thank you. What are your names? I'm Matilda."

[alicornucopia]

"I'm Thiies Hhireek, and this is Kheeeahh, and our children Iilha, Khi, and Leekath," says Friendlier Dad, as they all resume their walking.

[missnicegirl]

"It's nice to meet you all!"

[alicornucopia]

"Where are you from?" mumurs Leekath softly.

[missnicegirl]

"The entire world doesn't have a name that I know of, but I'm from a town called Lyndonville in a country called America on a planet called Earth in a world that isn't this one."

[alicornucopia]

"What, really?" asks Thiies. "How did you get here?"

[missnicegirl]

"Some nice people in Linnip summoned me as part of a research project they're doing on kinds of magic in different worlds, and they found a witch to teach me witchcraft and a dragon to teach me Ertydon, and when I figured out how to give ialdae to more people I gave it to some people the researchers found and now I'm teaching them how to use it."

[alicornucopia]

"...Linnip," says Thiies, "is doing a research project on magic in different worlds?"

[missnicegirl]

"Apparently!" She blinks up at him. "Is that especially weird?"

[alicornucopia]

"Excuse me," says Thiies, "I'll just be - darling, look after the -" He kisses his husband on the cheek through the cloak and then turns into a bat and flies away very fast.

[missnicegirl]

"...Do you know why he did that?" inquires Matilda, gazing after the fleeing bat.

[alicornucopia]

"My husband works in Parliament, who will be very interested in this development," says Kheeeahh. "Where are your parents?"

[missnicegirl]

"On Earth. Why?"

[alicornucopia]

"Do they know where you are, or will honoring my husband's invitation mean inviting a small unescorted child whose guardians do not know where to find her into my house?"

[missnicegirl]

"I can go home and tell Miss Honey what I'm up to if you want, but she can't travel between worlds by herself so when I'm in Elcenia it isn't especially imprtant to her to know which part of Elcenia exactly. Miss Honey is my adoptive mother," she adds.

[alicornucopia]

"You may visit briefly, as Thiies said, if your mother says you may."

[missnicegirl]

"Okay," she says. "I'll go tell her."

She vanishes.

Several ticks later she reappears. "I said I was going to visit with a family I met in Esmaar and she said 'okay, have fun,'" she reports.

[alicornucopia]

Kheeeahh regards her from the shadow of his hood. Then he turns and continues leading his children down the street, hand still on the shoulder of his youngest.

[missnicegirl]

Matilda follows along cheerfully. She does mostly understand why grown-ups are so frequently concerned about parental permission, even if it is a very silly thing to be concerned about in her particular case. They don't know that and it is usually not worth the bother to explain to them.

[alicornucopia]

Their house is a couple degrees' walk away from where Matilda joined them. They pass shops and many tall, roomy houses with a lot of windows arranged in circles around yards. Their house is in such a circle. Kheeeahh opens the door and ushers the children in.

"I'll let her look at me," pipes up Leekath.

Her father looks at her.

"So no one else will have to sit quiet for her."

"Very well."

Leekath pushes her hood back and sits on a couch in the living room. Her brother runs up the stairs, her sister out into the backyard; her father goes into another room on the same floor.