an innocent patch of empty air | Glowfic Constellation

greatestgift

...Sable giggles. She can't help it.

"I think she will not insist on eating beans," she says.

What she puts down on paper is:

It's me, Sable. I'm alive and okay. I've been in a very weird world, and now I'm in a different, also very weird world with some people who can do things like send you this letter. The little girl sitting next to me says that her family will have you over for dinner 'as long as you don't want to eat beans'.

"And then when you're done with the middle part you put your name in case they don't know your handwriting."

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"Well, I already put my name," she says. "And I'm not done with the middle part just yet."

Because she definitely needs to add:

The first weird world (it's called Terraria) was unpleasant and full of nasty monsters, but apart from those it also had all sorts of marvellously useful things, and I brought lots. Examples include: a pair of wings that you can put on and take off and fly with; candy that makes you permanently healthier; a bow that shoots dragons.

Rithka looks suspiciously at Sable and scoots away from her. "A bow that what?"

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"...Um, when you shoot an arrow with it the arrow turns into a huge snaky ghost dragon thing that is extremely on fire. I'm not going to demonstrate anywhere near your house. But they're good for when I'm surrounded by dangerous monsters and want to stop being surrounded by dangerous monsters very quickly."

"...So you don't shoot dragons with it."

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"Not habitually, no."

"Habitually?" asks Rithka.

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"Well, it's a bow, it doesn't care what it shoots at. I care what I shoot at, so I only shoot at dangerous monsters that are trying to kill me."

"And not just. Random families of mostly dragons. That you happen to meet."

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"No. You're people. I—you're people."

"...Okay."

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Now Sable is distracted from her letter-writing again.

"What else are you going to put?" asks Rithka.

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"Well..."

Since it was just pointed out to her that the last bit was ambiguous, she adds a clarification: That is, a bow that turns arrows into great big flaming ghost snake monster things. Not a bow for shooting at dragons with.

"Good," says Rithka, and then she nods, turns into a squirrel, and jumps onto Sable's head.

"Rithka, you're not supposed to do that to people," says Mallyn.

"But -"

Mallyn shakes his head.

Rithka the squirrel leaps from Sable's head to Mallyn's head and then settles around his neck.

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As cute as sudden headsquirrel was, Sable is glad Mallyn said something; she still has her groundsense open - it's a hard habit to kick, after living in Terraria for so long - and all those life candies didn't do quite enough to make touching living things comfortable, especially when Rithka is so... whatever makes her glow like that to groundsense. Being a dragon, apparently.

She finishes her letter with:

Sorry it took me so long.

Love,
Sable

In the kitchen, Ehail puts dinner in the oven, then she goes upstairs and comes down again without her baby, and then she goes into a little room in the middle of the house and starts drawing on the floor.

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...well. That's a thing that's happening.

In a little while:

"I can send your letter now. I'll need you to act as the focus," Ehail says.

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"And how do I do that?"

"Come here, put your hand in that space, and concentrate on who you want the letter to land on - I made a circle for sending to a person instead of a place, since you've been away a long time."

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"Okay."

She goes there and puts her hand in that space and concentrates firmly on her mother.

And Ehail puts the letter in the middle, and casts a spell.

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