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Elspeth isn't sure till she says it, but when she says it, she's sure.
[My particular affinity for Milliways doors is gone. I went too long without using it when we had Jane, and if it comes back at all it will take a long time. Someone may still find one, but we can't expect it to be me or soon.]
She fields some questions - not that many; people tend not to ask Elspeth for clarifications or restatements.
And then she settles Harley on her lap.
"We're stuck in Aurum for a while," she tells him.
her_imperial_radiance
"Oh well," says Harley.
her_imperial_radiance
"Yep. But there's lots to do in Aurum. Do you want to go to the beach today?"
"Yeah!" he beams.
her_imperial_radiance
"All right. We will need bathing suits and towels. What colors should I conjure them up to be?" asks Elspeth.
"Red!"
"Some pink," he decides.
her_imperial_radiance
"Okay." With this guideline, she wishes on appropriate bathing suits for both of them, in red, and a beach towel that is red with pink stars on it, and then she teleports them both to the Safesun beach. There's a couple of people already there, and it's high noon. Rather than wrestle with the issue of sunscreen she kills a square to protect Harley from burns for the day; she spreads out the towel and sits on it, all aglow.
"You're pretty," Harley informs her, poking her knee.
He giggles and flomps onto the towel, closing his eyes.
"Sun's warm," he says. "It's nice. Nice warm sun."
"Sun's warm," he says. "It's nice. Nice warm sun."
her_imperial_radiance
"Yup. If you go out without asking me or bringing me or someone else with coins along, though, you can get burnt in the sun. I put a wish on you to protect you but it won't last forever."
"How much burnt?" he inquires.
her_imperial_radiance
"It depends on how long you stay out. If it's only a few minutes, so little you'd never notice it. If it's many hours, then you could turn bright red and hurt all over and your skin would peel off."
Harley giggles. "Icky!"
"Itchy and icky."
He giggles again.
"I wanna try it," he declares.
"I wanna try it," he declares.
her_imperial_radiance
Elspeth considers this.
Then she shrugs and undoes the square. "There you go. The sun will burn you while we're out here. Drink a lot of water and let me know if you want the burn wished gone."
Then she shrugs and undoes the square. "There you go. The sun will burn you while we're out here. Drink a lot of water and let me know if you want the burn wished gone."
"Okay," he says serenely.
"Yeah!" he beams.
her_imperial_radiance
She conjures up suitable toy buckets and shovels. They are pink.
Harley giggles and hugs her.
Then he starts digging in the sand.
He makes a bowl-shaped depression with lumpy, crumbling walls, and then he runs to the edge of the water and fills up his bucket and comes back. Soon he has created a tiny pond.
Then he starts digging in the sand.
He makes a bowl-shaped depression with lumpy, crumbling walls, and then he runs to the edge of the water and fills up his bucket and comes back. Soon he has created a tiny pond.