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Time has passed.
Inconsistently.
Jane's network has kept all the Bells' worlds - and every other world with a Janepoint stuck in due to its being attached to Downside - in temporal sync, but when Jane spluttered for just a moment, that was shot to hell.
Peace lost three seconds, because it was where Aegis torched; after that process was complete, Jane was there again. And as soon as a door between Peace and Milliways appeared, she could sync to her ansible hub in the Belltower and, from there, to everywhere else.
Atlantis and Sunshine each stand at about a minute apiece: Shell Bell's aura and Juliet's local copy of Jarvis both enabled them to get to Milliways immediately, pausing their homeworlds as standard for occasions when someone walks into the bar. Shell Bell's the one who connected Peace.
Everyone else was running on luck.
Luckiest is Rainbow, which lost only five hours.
Next is Alethia; in spite of Sherlock's mishap, it's fared reasonably well, spending only six weeks isolated.
Syntropy's just a little worse - seven weeks.
Origin waited two months.
Eos waited three.
Thilanushinyel, ten.
Everyone else is out a decade at least. Samaria's ten years, almost ten and a half.
Aurum is out eleven.
Rêverie has been separated for sixteen years.
All the Bells - and Elspeth, who was stuck in Downside for a day and a half on her end and whose mother was very upset - are collected in the Belltower, as are two Bell-attached Sherlocks who happened to be along for the ride. They all memorize this list of numbers. Aegis replaces her earpiece. And then they all go home to notify their loved ones and staff that there's a party cooking in the Belltower.
(Shell Bell, who has no particular cause on her own account to be distressed, sends her Sherlock to invite Tony in while she refits the Belltower to suit a party of a peal of Bells and their larger-than-last-encountered families and circles of friends.)
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mind_game
campanas
"Oh, that's not good," Keziah says.
"Like how?" Céleste wants to know.
"Like how?" Céleste wants to know.
pumpkin-pie
"She can taste people's magic and sometimes when she talks about it she kind of sounds like she wants to eat me for lunch."
pumpkin-pie
"All different things! Apparently I'm cinnamon and nutmeg, and my brother Kerron is pineapple and coconut."
campanas
"I don't have my own magic," grumbles Keziah. "I'm allowed to have triangles. But Mommy is worried I'd do something in front of people if she let me have squares."
"I'm not old enough to learn to enchant yet," says Céleste. "But I'm allowed squares," she brags.
"Yeah, well - well - you don't have wings!"
"I can fly anyhow!"
The Griffins fold their arms at each other.
"I'm not old enough to learn to enchant yet," says Céleste. "But I'm allowed squares," she brags.
"Yeah, well - well - you don't have wings!"
"I can fly anyhow!"
The Griffins fold their arms at each other.
"Cherie," says Dominique, "it's not nice to brag."
campanas
Céleste huffs.
"You should say you're sorry," Keziah says preachily.
"I'm sorry," mumbles Céleste.
"You should say you're sorry," Keziah says preachily.
"I'm sorry," mumbles Céleste.
"That's my little sister," says Dominique, smiling at her.
campanas
"We should visit each other," Keziah says, apparently completely mollified by the reluctant apology.
"Ooh," says Céleste. "But don't we look like magic?"
"I guess," says Keziah, frowning. "People would think you were me and want to know where your wings went!"
"Ooh," says Céleste. "But don't we look like magic?"
"I guess," says Keziah, frowning. "People would think you were me and want to know where your wings went!"
campanas
"Yeah!" says Céleste brightly. "That's much better. You should come visit us."
campanas
Céleste looks around for Maman and Papa. Papa is not in evidence. Maman is over there. "Maman!" she calls.
beheld_beauty
Maman heads in their direction and regards the collection of cousinoids curiously. "What is it?"
beheld_beauty
"I think that sounds like a fine idea," says Rose. "Angela has told me that you're called Damaris and Keziah and you have little sisters at home."
campanas
"Yeah, Ariel and Peninnah don't know about magic yet," says Keziah.
"Ooh. So you're also a big sister," muses Céleste.
"Ooh. So you're also a big sister," muses Céleste.
campanas
"I'm littler than Damaris and bigger than Ariel and Pen'!" says Keziah.
"It's just us at home," says Céleste.
"It's just us at home," says Céleste.
"Perhaps someday we will have little sisters and you will also be medium-sized," says Dominique to Céleste.
Dominique hugs her Maman.