thingamajig

[dark_light]

Adarin's magic has some advantages over witchcraft, but it is imperfect. Still, over time, mana recovers, and in this time Metis's hospitality does not run out.

They watch Harry Potter, Adarin is introduced to Wikipedia, he makes the second thingamajig. Isabella interrogates her alethiometer.

It's kind of cryptic about whether she has to fear being a "crazy witch". But she's tentatively optimistic and still brainstorming new ways to format the question. (She complains about the alethiometer being bad at numbers and at "yes" and "no".)

It can, however, identify landmarks by referring to whatever they're named after. It's not so hard to interpret on the subject of where she may find a place to claim. She moves into it, Adarin in tow, Metis retained as a friendly advisor but apprenticeship terminated. The place has plumbing and a generator already; she gets satellite Internet for an entire half-day of spellcasting and collects a hand-me-down laptop from a mortal friend of her mother's. She sets up arrangements for building a nice big wall along the edge of a clearing on her appropriated property. It's a very busy couple of weeks.

Eventually she tries asking the alethiometer a fifteenth way whether she's prone to crazy witchitude. Whether she'd ever hurt someone she loved if they rejected her, or even threaten it.

The alethiometer says: love violence counter-to querent nature.

She's starting to get the hang of interpreting it, even if most of the practice has involved getting the addresses (via intersection and cardinal direction because it can't give her anything so useful as house number or latitude) and this is - this is pretty damn good.

This is good enough.

Of course, that's not all the answer she needs, is it?

Path goes looking for Vernaia.

Comments

[prodigal_miser]

There's an absurd amount of things for Adarin to do. Wikipedia earns its facetious fiance status, and he spends a large portion of his time planning for how he's going to use this influx of resources to his advantage. Not all of it's easy, not all of it's perfect - but it's a thousand times better than what his world had before. He absorbs it voraciously, excited and fascinated in equal measure.

He gets a library card, and relies on more than just the internet to learn things that need to be learned. Reading a new language slows down his reading speed, but the spell for this purpose adapts and he speeds up to the point where he chews through several books a day. He focuses on the sciences, mostly, since that's what his home dearly needs. Notes are taken, and even if he can't remember the exact way to make something, he'll know it's something to consider in use for his home.

The alethiometer is questioned, multiple times, by Adarin. Most of the answers come out absurdly cryptic and incomprehensible, but his best guess is that making a portal for Isabella's guaranteed safe return home will not end in invasion for either plane involved. Adarin doesn't think it's quite enough guarantee for the possible safety of everyone knows, but - it's for Isabella.

He has something of a biased opinion, when she's involved.

When Path comes looking for Vernaia, Adarin's in a nice shady spot underneath a tree, reading a book that's on steam engines. His daemon is just far enough away that she can probably hold a conversation while he's distracted.

[dark_light]

Path murmurs, "Can he hear us?"

[prodigal_miser]

"No," whispers Vern. "He's going to be reading that for another hour or so, I think if it started raining he wouldn't notice."

[dark_light]

"Okay." Path shuffles closer to her. "It's probably really obvious but we like you and we're convinced she won't get daggery, now."

[prodigal_miser]

She giggles, a little. "It is extremely obvious, and we are charmed."

[dark_light]

"So now she is pretty sure it is safe for her to do anything ever about that, but doesn't know what he wants her to do."

[prodigal_miser]

"He doesn't know either. He hasn't - been in this sort of situation, before. My Adarin likes her, he likes her so much and wants to keep having days like this where she's just there, but he's so used to anything of this kind being some kind of manipulation that he doesn't know how to not be on the defensive."

[dark_light]

"That's sad. My Isabella is used to being careful and nervous but it went away when the reason went away."

[prodigal_miser]

"He's trying - she helps, she honestly helps so much. He respects her for having such a good reason to be careful and then sticking to it. It makes him want to not be on the defensive but I don't think he knows how."

[dark_light]

"My Isabella talks to me until we know all the parts of ourselves, and how they work, and what to move to make the rest of it move, how we want. If this was her I'd know what to ask. I don't know what to ask about him."

[prodigal_miser]

"We talk, we understand a lot of ourselves but I don't think we know ourselves as well as you know yourselves. We try, though, we know it's important and we really, really don't want to hurt you. That was one of the easiest things to figure out."

Affectionate nuzzle.

"I think my Adarin needs to take it slow, whatever we decide to do. He wants to, though."

[dark_light]

Nuzzle.

"Slow's going to annoy her," Path predicts ruefully. "She's all excited about not having to stay a mile away from anything that could crazy-witch her. But I can tell her anyway."

[prodigal_miser]

"Sorry," apologizes Vern. "He will probably feel guilty about not being able to go as fast as she likes. He wants to make her happy, but... Slow's all he can do, right now."

[dark_light]

"It's okay." Nuzzle. "Don't be sorry."

[prodigal_miser]

Nuzzle, nuzzle. "Okay. We'll try."

[dark_light]

"I'll tell her she should wait for him to do something. Will that work?"

[prodigal_miser]

"I think so. He needed to know that she wasn't going to - go crazy witch, too, that if he tried anything he risked losing her as a friend. I'll tell him that she won't and that it's okay if he wants to do something. I do think she'll have to wait, but I don't think she'll have to wait long."

[dark_light]

"Okay. She likes him enough to wait. We like you so much."

[prodigal_miser]

Nuzzle. "We like you so much, too. So much that it's worth trying, even if we're scared."

[dark_light]

Wingsnugglings!

[prodigal_miser]

Wingsnugglings are returned! "We're so glad it's you," murmurs Vern, in cuddles.

[dark_light]

"We're so glad you landed near us. We could have missed you or you could have gone somewhere else and it would be so much worse and we wouldn't even know to miss you."

[prodigal_miser]

"We're here. It's okay, we landed near you and since he spelled a mirror you don't have to worry about accidentally misplacing us. Besides, he knows how to bring us back, and we will come back."

[dark_light]

"Yes. We think we should be near each other most of the time even if it involves lots of world-moving."

[prodigal_miser]

"We agree. My Adarin has considered buying your Isabella a house in New Kystle, just so she can feel welcome."