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Mallyn's first concern is whether he and Rithka have been permanently lost. Rithka, on the other hand, knows exactly what's going on - "this just happens sometimes! It's okay, we can go home whenever!" - and eventually has him reassured enough that he sits down at the bar and stutters his way through asking her for potato soup. Rithka gets a walnut to nibble on companionably from her squirrely perch around his neck, but doesn't feel like shifting to eat anything substantial. She was in the snack cabinet earlier spoiling her dinner.
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"Uuuum, the world or the country? Or the house?" asks Rithka.
"The world has lots of kinds of people and magic. Barashi only has the one kind of magic," muses Rithka. "Aaaand the planet is square. Barashi isn't. I don't know about yours. Esmaar is a magocratic welfare state!" She rattles off this pronouncement as though she memorized it once a while ago. "It was a better place for Mallyn to go than Aristan where he came from. Some people in our family live there and it's where Daddy's shop is but they're not..." She considers this phrasing for a while, and concludes, "They aren't good at Mallyn. Mom is good at Mallyn. I'm best at Mallyn though. Our house has plants growing on top of it, and we have a little sister too."
Mallyn's ears turn slightly pink when Rithka starts talking about who is and is not good at him.
Mallyn's ears turn slightly pink when Rithka starts talking about who is and is not good at him.
inhispockets
"What's it mean to be good at Mallyn?" he asks, more or less of both of them but perhaps mostly of Rithka.
"Not scaring him. Daddy tries, but he's not home as much so he doesn't get as much practice as Mom. And I'm not a grownup," says Rithka. "And understanding when he only says one word at a time or doesn't say anything but means stuff anyway, I'm good at that too."
Mallyn's ears are still pink, and he's looking at the empty soup bowl now.
Mallyn's ears are still pink, and he's looking at the empty soup bowl now.
Mallyn shifts in his seat, slightly encumbered by the fact that Rithka is presently human-shaped. "'m getting better," he mutters, mostly to his sister.
"I know." She leans her head on his shoulder.
"I know." She leans her head on his shoulder.
"Our aunt Rhysel made it like that," says Rithka. "It was her wedding present for Mom and Dad."
"I think so. Or like - funny magic rock. Aunt Rhysel is an elemental kama. Kyma are the kind of magic person from Barashi."
inhispockets
"And what's the kind of magic people from - whichever world yours is? Or wait, you said there's lots?"
"Yeah, there's a bunch. There's Elcenian kyma now too since Aunt Rhysel worked out how to do that. Mom is a wizard. There's sorcerers and mages and lights, and there are magic things that only some species can do."
Rithka stares at him, momentarily at a loss for words.
"At all?" asks Mallyn.
"At all?" asks Mallyn.
inhispockets
"Nope. Unless everybody who has it is hiding for some reason. There's not magic that everybody knows about that does things like make houses out of magic rock."
"Well, that sounds boring and terrible," asserts Rithka.
Mallyn shivers. "I like there being magic better."
Mallyn shivers. "I like there being magic better."
inhispockets
Felicity shrugs. "I'm used to it. What's better about magic? Besides this place, this place is a kind of magic I can get behind."
As though summoned by his approval, another cupcake appears. This one is frosted in red, dotted with dark chocolate chips. Felicity grins.
As though summoned by his approval, another cupcake appears. This one is frosted in red, dotted with dark chocolate chips. Felicity grins.
"Without magic you couldn't get from Barashi to Elcenia or the other way around," Rithka points out. "Well, not whenever you wanted, anyway, I guess you might be able to go from here somehow. But it doesn't eat doors on anybody's say-so. And lights are good - and wizards and kyma can do all kinds of stuff."
"I want to be a wizard," volunteers Mallyn.
"I want to be a wizard," volunteers Mallyn.
"Uuuum, Mom can teleport, and fix things, and do translation spells -"
"She can summon my other sister and my brother from where they live in Barashi," murmurs Mallyn. "So they can visit sometimes."
"She can summon my other sister and my brother from where they live in Barashi," murmurs Mallyn. "So they can visit sometimes."
"Yeah, kinda," says Rithka. "Dad has a whole bunch of brothers and sisters and some of them have kids. Uncle Batai and Aunt Karyn were the ones who adopted Mallyn's other sister and brother. And Aunt Ryll and Uncle Lerrel have two adopted ones like me and our little sister, on top of five regular kids."
inhispockets
"I have a mom," he says. "I guess I must've had a dad at some point but I never met him and I don't know anything about him except that he's not around. And Mom has a husband, and he's why I'm not going back."
"I've got absolutely no idea where my egg parents are," says Rithka with a sort of cheerful defiance. "Same with our cousin Taala. Cenem's visit sometimes though. Our cousin Apran turned out to actually be a prince with a really obnoxious sister but he didn't go be a prince with them. Mallyn's birth parents got personality-revisioned when they got caught being evil, and they're..." She waves a hand vaguely. "Somewhere in Aristan."
Mallyn wraps his arms around his sister and hugs her close.
Mallyn wraps his arms around his sister and hugs her close.