picknicking

[dark_light]

There's something unutterably pleasant about landing in a bit of woods in the middle of Nowhere, Manitoba, removing a sandwich and an apple from her backpack and having a picnic before she's ready to move on. She could eat in midair, but it makes it too likely that she'll drop something and find it unrecoverable.

Path's on her knee, and her cloudpine is propped up against the tree next to her.

Comments

[dark_light]

"What is mana deprivation?"

[prodigal_miser]

He winces. "I run out almost entirely of magic in my system, it sends me into a mixture of shock, pain, and illness. It would mean my next few days would be spent in the attic in agony," explains Adarin. "Or wherever I did the spell, but I thought the attic would be best."

[dark_light]

"Well, that sounds unpleasant. You're how sure that this won't happen?"

[prodigal_miser]

"Almost certain. I'm in the habit of not getting spells wrong, for obvious reasons," he informs her.

[dark_light]

"Okay. Let's see it, then."

[prodigal_miser]

He nods, and leads her to the attic. Once they're there he sits, retrieving one of the rocks the spell will be done on. Adarin takes a deep breath, mentally going over everything he needs to remember.

Then, he starts speaking. He was absolutely right when he said it wasn't as showy as a witch's spell, but as he chants, the attic quiets itself. Birds outside seem quiet and far away, or decided now was not the time to sing. Even the air around then goes more still, leaving only what he's saying. There is a look of absolute focus on his face as the spell continues, interrupting would be bad. There is a slow, subtle crescendo of the sound of her own heartbeat, and the blood in her ears as he reaches the end of the spell - it's not painful, just noticeable if she pays attention.

Finally, he says the final word and it all just ends. All sounds return to as they were. Adarin and the spelled rock are almost exactly as they were - except there's silvery etchings on the rock. Not to mention Adarin is very obviously not dead or going into shock.

He grins, just a bit triumphantly. "Your index, Isabella," he says, and holds out the rock to her.

[dark_light]

She takes it and inspects it. "Beautiful. How do I operate it?"

[prodigal_miser]

"It'll record everything a nearby alethiometer 'says' - it operates by touch, and organizes everything into numbers at the top for which separate thing it's saying. When it starts getting lots of recordings, to where it's filled up, rub the numbers at the top and they'll fade out to the next set. If you touch one of the numbers it has recorded, it'll look at that one in more detail, and list the symbols said below it, in order and with the number of times it was chosen. From there, you touch the symbol you want the translations for and it'll offer them. Touch another symbol and it'll switch it out," he explains.

[dark_light]

"That's fantastic. I'm so glad you landed where I was," says Isabella happily, putting her rock in proximity to her alethiometer.

[prodigal_miser]

Adarin grins. "I do try."

If the alethiometer is talking to itself, the newly spelled rock begins its work.

[dark_light]

And of course it is. Isabella immediately starts fiddling with the rock appropriately to interpret the first complete utterance it makes.

[prodigal_miser]

Her companion grins a bit more at this entire process working!

"Should I leave you alone with it? I won't be put out if you'd rather listen to the perfect-truth teller while my magic recuperates," he says, amused. He understands her excitement, of course - but since he can't ask it anything yet, he'll hold off on asking to borrow it.

[dark_light]

"Alone-ness is not required," she says merrily. "But I might not be very talkative."

[prodigal_miser]

Teasingly, he replies, "Oh? Should I hang around and be smugly self-congratulatory? Because I can do that very well."

[dark_light]

"You are welcome to do so if that amuses you."

[prodigal_miser]

He clears his throat, then says in a very unconvincing, wooden tone, "I did a good job!"

Pause. "Hm. Maybe I'm not very good at it, after all."

[dark_light]

Path snickers from where he's sitting on Isabella's head.

Isabella is busy trying to work out the grammar of the most recent alethiometer utterance. At least the rock separates the utterances for her.

[prodigal_miser]

Adarin grins, just a little at Path's laughter. Then he goes and plops down on his sleeping mat. His kagu follows, and hops up next to him. He pets her, a faint smile on his face. Today was a good day.

Absently, he says to his daemon, "I still need to name you. Any ideas?"

She shakes her head.

"Ah, well. I'll think of something, I'm sure," he shrugs.

[dark_light]

"Do you want a baby name book? We could stop at a bookshop on the way to getting you your chamomile," asks Path.

[prodigal_miser]

"I think," says the kagu, "That we would be far too embarrassed to buy one of those."

Her person snickers. "Not to mention if I brought it home it would start an entire fuss and people would start taking bets on who I impregnated. Also- hey, magic talking bird," he says, with obvious affection. "I thought you were supposed to be on my side?"

She giggles, a little. "I just said I wouldn't give away your secrets."

"Oh, heavens," says Adarin. "Yes, you're definitely my daemon. Only something part of me would get to that level of scrutiny for your words."

Absolutely none of this conversation is said with any heat. Look, they're bonding!

[dark_light]

"You don't have to buy a baby name book to just flip through it in the store," Pathalan points out.

[prodigal_miser]

"True," replies Adarin, lightly. "But I would still be quite embarrassed. Besides, it's more fun to try and think of something myself."

[dark_light]

"Fair enough."

[prodigal_miser]

They fall into a comfortable silence, for a little while. Pet, pet, pet. This is broken up a little by the daemon scooting up to whisper in his ear, but it lapses into absent pets and more silence. They're thinking of proper names for her.

A little while later, Adarin asks, "Is Vernaia a 'daemony' name?"

[dark_light]

"I can't think of any daemons named exactly that off the top of my head, but it sounds about right to me," says Path.