"...I don't know. It – felt like magic. You're still here, though, and when I got pushed it was instantaneous... I don't know."

"...You might have magic. This is an extremely promising opportunity. You should try it on something else. Not me."

She touches her hand. Nothing.

Touches her sleeve. Nothing.

Starts to reach out to touch the wall, and hesitates.

"...I'm not feeling anything. I'm gonna go look for meat in the kitchen to poke, and then try the greenhouse in case it's only living things.

Unless you have a better idea."

Nick hands her something random from his toolbelt - a hammer. "Try this first?"

She takes the hammer.

"Nothing."

"Hmm."

"...Kitchen then greenhouse it is. I'll fetch some stuff to try too. And maybe it's just... Slow?"

"...Maybe. But I've been touching my clothes all day."

Still, she puts a hand on her sleeve and leaves it there as she heads out to the kitchen.

"Obviously there's something missing, something strange going on. We just have to investigate."

"Agreed." And they part.

The meat does nothing.

The plants... almost feel like there's something there. Not like falling, but maybe like leaning, just a little.

Or maybe it's just her imagination? She tries poking and removing her hand repeatedly; no, she's pretty sure there's something different when she's touching the plant than when she isn't.

Maybe it's slow. She holds the leaf and pays attention to the sensation. Does it change noticeably over time?

...not before Nick or Walta shows up, anyway.

After a few minutes Nick comes back with a variety of tools, mechanical bits and bobs, a section of rope, and similar things. "Some more stuff for you to try."

She turns to face him, one hand still holding the leaf.

"Thanks. I think I can feel something with the plants, but it's not really clear. Do you wanna try?"

She starts going through the miscellaneous objects with her free hand. (Nothing seems to happen, but she'll try again later when she's not still touching the plant.)

"Try... What, exactly? To do it myself?"

"Uh. Touching a plant, I guess?"

...Nick touches a plant skeptically. Nothing seems to happen.

"Can you feel anything? It's pretty subtle, for me, I had to touch and let go a couple of times to be sure I wasn't imagining it."

"I'm... Not sure. I don't think so. Wouldn't it be you who can do it if anyone?"

"I don't know how it works! Maybe it is just me. But there isn't magic where I came from, and I got it somehow... maybe it only happens once you get pushed? I guess there's not really a good way to test that."

...Nick touches the plant again, looking nervous. "Maybe there's something." Shiver.

"...you don't have to if you don't want to. It might be helpful, but – if you really hate it –"

(Her own plant still feels the same as ever.)

"I am afraid of it. I don't know the rules and I am not a curious scientist is endlessly excited to poke, poke, poke at something that might turn out to be dangerous."

"...fair enough.

I don't think this is doing anything, or else it's too slow for me to notice any progress."

...hmm. Can she try to push the plant, magically? Send it to another world? ...no, apparently not.

"Was there anything else we were going to try?"

"Whatever this is there's a reasonable possibility that it takes a while. To go into effect, to show once it's done..."

"I guess. I just..."

Even having more or less decided to, she still doesn't quite want to let go of the plant.

"This feels – like the same flavor as the other thing earlier, if that makes sense. Like only just being able to hear something, where you can tell it's there but can't make it out. This is – the other thing was –"

– falling, turning, darkness and silence, vibration and warmth, a silver ringing –

Her voice is soft. "– beautiful."

This makes him grimace again. "...Well, that weird feeling... If I touch Walta's hand, after telling her about this of course, and she feels it too... I probably got whatever you got. I don't like this but it's not being immediately hazardous at least."

"Oooh. That's a good test.

But yes, informed consent, ethics, very important.

Thanks."