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Their Isabella having just gone to welcome a new Bell into the peal, Kas and Petaal snuggle up together and take a nap. They'll want to be well rested for the party.
When they wake up, she still isn't back.
[Jane?]
No response.
Kas teleports down to the Janepoint, Petaal wrapped snake-shaped around his shoulders.
The display reads: error 7788: lycanthropy
"...So that's new," he says.
"No shit," says Petaal. "Now what?"
He shrugs. She coils tighter.
"Hang around and wait, I guess."
truthwright
It's four days later, with no Isabella walking through the door from Milliways, and no change in Jane, when a witch queen next shows up to meet with the revolutionary young witch (who is now, thanks to some savvy dead people, widely rumored to be responsible for the funny dreams everyone's been having about their loved ones). Queen Atassa Mikalmia knocks on the door.
truthwright
Kas has hung around and waited.
He answers the door wearing sweatpants, a Queen T-shirt, and a frilly pink apron, with fox-shaped Petaal tucked into the apron pocket.
"Hi."
He answers the door wearing sweatpants, a Queen T-shirt, and a frilly pink apron, with fox-shaped Petaal tucked into the apron pocket.
"Hi."
"Hallo," says the queen, whose daemon is not accompanying her today. "I'm looking for Isabella Amariah. This is her house, isn't it?"
"But I made an appointment. She was expecting me."
truthwright
"She's not home," he repeats. "Something came up. I don't know when she'll be back. Could be ten minutes, could be ten years."
"What is it that came up?" asks Atassa testily.
truthwright
"Last I heard of her, she went to check on the afterlife," he says. "But that was days ago. I expected her back by now."
"...Oh," says Atassa, far less testy. "I see. Might I borrow the use of pen and paper to leave a letter for her?"
truthwright
"Sure," says Kas. He grabs a notebook and pen out of a drawer that didn't contain a notebook and pen until just before he opened it. "You can have some muffins, too, if you want, I just baked 'em."
"Thank you, I accept." She starts writing.
truthwright
Kas goes to fetch the plate of muffins from the kitchen. When he comes back with it, the fox in his apron is a different colour - white instead of orange.
Atassa looks at Petaal, but doesn't comment; either she's heard about Amariah's boyfriend's weird daemon or it just doesn't interest her. She takes a muffin and eats it while tapping the notebook thoughtfully with the pen.
truthwright
He takes a muffin for himself and hands one to Petaal. They stand around nomming contentedly.
Atassa eventually finishes her muffin and her letter, the latter of which she folds up and presents to Kas. "For her eyes only, please."
And out Atassa goes, and up up and away on her cloudpine.
truthwright
Kas finds somewhere slightly reasonable to put the letter.
He eats his muffin.
He changes his clothes.
He puts Isabella's alethiometer downstairs at the Janepoint and makes the room impassable and its contents inviolable to anyone but himself and his girlfriend.
He packs his own alethiometer in a little backpack, and closes and locks the door, and pins a note to it: Isabella Amariah is gone on important business and may be some time.
And then he teleports to a random city on the same continent.
He eats his muffin.
He changes his clothes.
He puts Isabella's alethiometer downstairs at the Janepoint and makes the room impassable and its contents inviolable to anyone but himself and his girlfriend.
He packs his own alethiometer in a little backpack, and closes and locks the door, and pins a note to it: Isabella Amariah is gone on important business and may be some time.
And then he teleports to a random city on the same continent.
After Jane has been down and Amariah gone for two weeks, Ranata, her mother, tentatively brainphones Kas. [Hello?]
[Isabella is not answering me - do you know what's going on?]
truthwright
[Not really. I just know she went somewhere that time works differently and something went wrong. She's going to come back, but it might take - a long time.]
[Oh. Oh dear. Does this have to do with what people are saying about - about the dead?]
[People are saying that the dead are contacting them in their sleep. I haven't been contacted, but Mother says Father has spoken to her and plans to invite me, later. And people are saying it has something to do with Isabella.]