planetary

[dark_light]

Over the next week, Isabella gets the alethiometer to tell her that the planets they looked at don't contain microorganisms that know what to do with a human body (although the one with the giant bugs has some multicellular parasites that might be able to make do with the foreign macro-scale features of a human body if they got the chance). "The present", it includes in one of its answer phrasings, which is kind of worrying. But Adarin makes enough progress with his scry in little enough time that it's worth the double-check.

Isabella also hires ticket-takers, gives them little pots of ink to verify the authenticity of the passes she handed out, and opens the Los Angeles - New York route for the employees of her three companies of choice and anyone who shells out a cool fifteen thousand dollars per round trip (ten K for a one-way). This is steep, but it's within an order of magnitude of what people sometimes pay for short-notice first-class cross-country flights - with less novelty and more hassle. Albeit she doesn't supply inflight meals. She expects to have to raise the price when more people hear about it in response to volume and then be able to drop it again.

By the time the thing has been open for a few days she's fired and replaced one ticket-taker and the others have settled into a routine that she's willing to try out leaving unsupervised for awhile.

If Adarin's up for some up close and personal planet shopping and his results suggest it'll go well, anyway.

Comments

[dark_light]

"Me too. You were very quick with that shield," she says.

[prodigal_miser]

"Thanks. It wouldn't be much use if it took forever to get up, so... I worked on my reflexes for that one. A lot. You probably saw with the gummy worm training."

[dark_light]

"I saw you hoarding them, what does that have to do with shields?"

[prodigal_miser]

Adarin laughs. "I was - I was practicing with them. What, did you think I was just - grabbing the gummy worms and running off for no reason? I had a stopwatch, if I could get the layout of a completely unique spell for a shield in under three seconds, with all of my parameters, I got a gummy worm."

[dark_light]

"I had no idea what you were doing. That's adorable, why are you so adorable?"

[prodigal_miser]

"Thank you, I didn't realize I was adorable so I couldn't give you a reason why. You must have thought I was insane, with my stopwatch and my book of cheatsheats and a bag of gummy worms that I would eat at strange times."

[dark_light]

"I wasn't about to judge, I have been known to have notebooks and do non-transparent things with them while eating candy!"

[prodigal_miser]

"Pfff... The stopwatch didn't seem strange at all? I don't know what else I would even use it for!"

[dark_light]

"I didn't use a stopwatch, but I've been curious about how long it takes me to do certain mental tasks..."

[prodigal_miser]

"You time how long it takes you to do certain mental tasks?" asks Adarin curiously. "... That's adorable. Also useful, but really adorable. Technically I was doing exactly that, but for a very specific purpose of reflexes."

[dark_light]

"So we are both adorable and now I know what you were doing with a stopwatch and gummy worms."

[prodigal_miser]

"Yup. Now you know what I do if I slink off somewhere quiet with a bag of candy. I'm practicing magic."

[dark_light]

"You will not ever be making me cunning Valentine's Day crafts?"

[prodigal_miser]

"... I might now, but I will need you to explain to me what Valentine's Day is!"

[dark_light]

"It is a holiday characterized primarily by a red, pink and white color scheme, heart- and lace-themed decorations, and couples being obnoxiously coupley. And chocolate, chocolate's a thing."

[prodigal_miser]

"'Obnoxiously coupley,' huh? That's a thing I can do. Bwuahahaha!"

[dark_light]

Isabella cackles.

[prodigal_miser]

"Birthday first, though," he says, once the evil laughter of shared obnoxious couplehood is complete. "Right? Wait, when is it in the year, is it before or after your birthday? Because planned birthday presents aren't couple-based at all, just things I think you will like."

[dark_light]

"...Valentine's Day is before my birthday in the calendar year but after it in terms of what things happen next. It's February 14."

[prodigal_miser]

"Aha. Thank you, my plans are safe. I don't have to scramble in order to get obnoxious couplehood prepared."

[dark_light]

Isabella giggles.

[prodigal_miser]

"I can plan, months in advance. Bwuahahahaha. It will be glorious! I can check Wikipedia to get the traditions right!"

[dark_light]

"Should I be afraid? Is it going to be like six florists nested in my house?"

[prodigal_miser]

"Possibly. I have plans, you see. Well, I mean - I will have plans. Eventually. In the future, at some point."

[dark_light]

"You plan to have plans. Gotcha."