chalk

[alicornucopia]

In Paraasilan, Esmaar, a pair of roommates are about to break a rule that, compared to the one about running in the corridors or even the one about unlicensed teleportation, is there for a good reason.

In unison, they complete their shared spell.

~~~

with Adarin (Aestrix)

with Ekador (kappa)

with Brilliance (kappa)

with the admin (kappa)

with Teah (kappa)

with Katran (lambda)

with Hall (kappa)

with Joy (kappa)

with Kalinda (Christy Hotwater)

Comments

[or_the_broken]

"They wouldn't handle it well, but they'd handle it. If I'm going to be here for months I'd rather they had an explanation and the explanation might as well come with a stand-in."

[alicornucopia]

"Okay. What's the place like? The easiest way to get ahold of a light to send would be to give a student an extra credit project, but I can't send a student anywhere very dangerous."

[or_the_broken]

"Not very dangerous at all."

[alicornucopia]

"I'm still going to need more detail than that for a permission packet to send home to a family. Also, this isn't a lightcraft school - the student would be getting their educational value out of what amounts to an anthropology assignment about wherever you're from - so there's also a question of how well they'd be able to accomplish that at the same time as picking up your shifts. If the answer is 'not well' I may have to just ask one of the school lights -"

"Oh not me, no," says bubblegum-pink light, "I don't want to go haring off anywhere -"

"The night shift one or the part-time one, maybe, and then replace that position temporarily with a student who happens to be a light. What's your name, by the way?" Keo inquires of the summonee.

[or_the_broken]

"Miroslav Hall," he says. "Dr. Hall. Someone who can do my job this quickly would definitely have time to research whatever their heart desired on the side. And working in a hospital is plenty safe. For that matter - something one of the kids said implied lights don't work on lights? How good is whatever you've got that patches that problem? If you get me some of the equipment my stand-in won't be using, I could help with that. My specialty's injury, not illness, but I'm good at injury. Don't know how useful I'd be, but I'm offering."

[alicornucopia]

"Lights don't work on themselves or each other," says Keo, "so it's possible you'd be useful at alights' crisis center somewhere."

"Erm," says the bubblegum-pink light. "I'm starting to wonder if your - stand-in - won't need to be a trained light? Five-year-olds can heal but you have to know what you're doing to address anything complicated like objects embedded in a wound or - well, I guess if you deal with injuries and not rehabilitation it wouldn't have to be someone who knows the procedures for scars and stumps and implants and the like. But still. None of the three of us on staff know how to take anything more complicated than a splinter out of a wound."

[or_the_broken]

"Not quite as nice a trick as it looks, huh? Yeah. That could be a problem. Somebody who can do what you did for me would still be better than nothing, but to really replace me, whoever went would have to know how to deal with complications."

[alicornucopia]

"Well, there's not necessarily a reason it has to be exactly one person. A student will be much faster to get and much less expensive than a trained-light, even one who only has a class about wound evacuation under their belt and nothing else. We could find one of those who'll go for a couple of days within the angle, probably, if you can tell me a bit more about what they'll find there if they show up with themselves and a letter you write."

[or_the_broken]

"Confused and mildly alarmed administrators," he says dryly. "What do you want to know? If anyone's going to attack them? No. If anyone's going to feed them? Yes. House them? They can stay in my apartment, it's not like I'll be using it."

[alicornucopia]

"Lights need more water than other people," says the bubblegum-pink light. "And sunlight." (The room has enormous windows taking up a couple walls.)

"And they won't speak the language. The spell you're using won't work in another world. Pity dragons are never lights," Keo muses.

[or_the_broken]

"The language thing can be handled. There's such a thing as a universal translator in my world; I don't personally have one, but the hospital can probably scare one up, especially if I'm going to be gone for a while and especially if they get excited about lights. Sunlight, though... what kind of sunlight?"

[alicornucopia]

"...light... from... the sun?" says the light, gesturing window-ward.

Keo doesn't seem to have anything helpful to add there.

[or_the_broken]

"The sun here isn't the same as the sun at home. If what you need from the sun here isn't something the sun at home has, that could be a problem."

[alicornucopia]

"Well - I guess you teach whoever you send your dragonsong and if they find it tastes wrong when they're there you bring them back for sunbathing every day?" the bubblegum-pink light says to Keo.

"Sounds like," Keo agrees.

[or_the_broken]

"So that's solved. Handy. What's a dragonsong?"

[alicornucopia]

"If someone sings a dragon's name to a certain tune, the dragon knows about it. Doesn't know anything else, so it's best if it's an agreed-upon signal, but it does work transworld initiated out of Elcenia."

[or_the_broken]

"This place is damn strange," says Dr. Hall.

[alicornucopia]

"I have," reports Keo, "one student who is also a light and takes anthropology classes and would love to write a report on your world for course credit for a few shifts of healing. Shall we go talk to him?"

[or_the_broken]

"Sure."

[alicornucopia]

Keo waves to the light, leads him into the hall, and then into the lift, which she directs to a residence hall. The lift moves.

[or_the_broken]

He observes the lift moving.

"Damn strange," he repeats.

[alicornucopia]

"Is it? Your language has a word for this," says Keo. "It's a lift."

[or_the_broken]

"Different functionality at home, different aesthetic," he says. "Different mechanism, too, I bet."

[alicornucopia]

"Well, yes, this one's magic. I'm getting the sense you don't have magic at all where you're from."

[or_the_broken]

"Correct."