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Bella's house gets done, and she fills it up with things. She experiments with magic, and theorizes when she has more data to work with; when she runs out of her steadily increasing mana supply for a day she studies Quenya. One morning she sits bolt upright in bed, realizes she has not seen a single wheel since she got here, and runs off to Mahtan to explain the concept, which is, it turns out, new.
When Fëanáro is feeling sociable she hangs out with him. He finishes his novel. (In it, the school turns him over to social workers and adopt him out, he escapes his foster family, he encounters a dragon and talks his way past it with stories about Arda, he studies wizardry and is unreasonably effective at it, when the dragon opens a portal to Arda he sneaks through too and the Valar slay the dragon, he fixes his mother with magic, and then he masters planar travel himself and conquers Bella's plane.) He finishes his typewriter, too; Bella's of the opinion that it would have been easier if he made vowels separate instead of consonant-hats, but it works okay like so. She acquires one when there is more than one, and learns to type, because crystal balls are a long time coming.
She has made some progress, though. She finds the common thread in dud combinations that produced an aura, and successfully decomposes all her original spells into pieces and begins to make new combinations. Most of these are trivial like the increased character limit arcane mark. Reverse-engineering her undead-damaging spell, though, gets her (small) arcane healing well in advance of when she was expecting to have that down. So anybody who lives on her block and cuts themselves cooking breakfast can knock on her door - or that of anybody who's getting the spells as she turns them out - and get that seen to without bothering a Maia.
Once a month she sees Miriel. Bella doesn't have any ideas that land any better than "forget you forgot something". But forgetting the contents of that foolish, foolish oath is at least a holding pattern that lets Miriel pretty much live her life, so, therapeutic success? ...Bella makes sure to remind Fëanáro that he is very adorable and lovable and adored and loved.
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subtly_artistic
I am very proud of you.
The Valar were all assembled and did something you considered unreasonable, and you told them why it was unreasonable and asked them for more information and got a concession - lousy concession, but still - and a better picture of what they're worried about. The Bella who arrived here would have been too terrified to do any of that. Or to keep inventing things.
I'm proud of you.
I've been doing calendars and scheduling. Works pretty well, so far, though not for Fëanáro who drives himself wild with it.
subtly_artistic
Yeah. I just need different habits and to be alert. I might be able to duplicate the effect with subtle arts, but I don't know if the Valar would let it stick to anyone but me.
He shakes his head. They should just - interfere less. It would make things a lot better. I know they intend well.
subtly_artistic
I sort of wish I had asked what they can possibly be thinking, preventing me from interacting in certain ways with Fëanáro because they don't like his fate. That seems - bizarre. It didn't sound like they wanted to enforce it per se, just like they were only willing to see it change if the way to do it were to - shrink him -
What's his fate? What are they so afraid of?
subtly_artistic
I only got bits and pieces. The Trees were dead, I don't think that was his doing but he had some way to fix them and wasn't doing it. Swearing a long incredibly foolish oath to - get some thing. I think Finwë was dead in the vision, I don't think that was him either, he was furious about it. Copious lethal violence over boats so he could sail away. Charging the Enemy, dying. Staying dead.
Oh no.
I wonder if they're worried that, equipped with magic and ten times as much time as anyone else, if he gets driven to the same state -
I wonder if they're worried that, equipped with magic and ten times as much time as anyone else, if he gets driven to the same state -
subtly_artistic
I think that's what they were worrying about but I told them that if I'm going to help it only works if he knows I want to help him...
I don't think they understand our psychology well enough to understand that.
subtly_artistic
They should learn more about psychology before trying to play with it, then.
I agree. Though by the time they do, I imagine Fëanáro will be their equal in abilities. It is a bit of a bind. Doesn't mean they handled it well.
Picking your side?
He nods. The next item on my schedule was another visit to Lórien. I am going to go now. A wry smile. If you're all right, that is.
I'll try.
subtly_artistic
And Bella double-checks her schedule to make sure she doesn't have any suspiciously large blocks in there, and then goes to visit Fëanáro.