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This was a bad idea this was a bad idea this was a bad idea.
Holly runs as fast as she can but the demon's faster. She has no idea where Lightning's gotten to; maybe he found a tree to climb. She on the other hand has been diverted into a treeless hill and she's careening down a slope, trying very hard not to trip.
And the demon's gaining on her.
She's never seen anything like it and neither has Crystal; maybe Book knows what it is but Book's asleep. It's mostly mouth - it looks like a cross between a floorlength mirror of a mouth and a snake to propel the mouth along.
And Holly's not fast enough.
The mouth catches her.
But it doesn't hurt.
Where are we?
inourhead
unblinkered
So she didn't know about cars, then. He gestures around at the vehicle and says "car".
They approach a large shopping plaza nearby. The Newark skyline is visible in the distance as they pull up in front of a large pet supply store.
They approach a large shopping plaza nearby. The Newark skyline is visible in the distance as they pull up in front of a large pet supply store.
unblinkered
He's uncertain for a minute about what she's alarmed by- and then notices, and points to the distant city. "Skyscrapers."
He walks up to the automatic doors, signalling her to follow.
He walks up to the automatic doors, signalling her to follow.
inourhead
She follows along reasonably docilely.
The pet shop employee who greets them is kind of alarmed by the bag on her back.
"Is that a backpack with mice in it? What?"
The pet shop employee who greets them is kind of alarmed by the bag on her back.
"Is that a backpack with mice in it? What?"
unblinkered
"It's... a long story. That involves her being a wizard. She did some wizard stuff to the mice too much, or something, and a bunch died, and now she needs new mice to do wizard things to. D'you guys sell live feeder mice?"
unblinkered
He sighs.
"Yeah, I'm off my meds. I'm a crazy person. D'you have live feeder mice or not?"
He picks a rubber chew toy and a rawhide bone off the rack next to the counter, and hands them to Pyay with the accompanying shaking gesture.
"Yeah, I'm off my meds. I'm a crazy person. D'you have live feeder mice or not?"
He picks a rubber chew toy and a rawhide bone off the rack next to the counter, and hands them to Pyay with the accompanying shaking gesture.
inourhead
Pyay takes them, and looks at them, and then puts them back, apparently disinterested in performing magic on them.
"I... yeah... how many do you need?"
"I... yeah... how many do you need?"
unblinkered
He shoots her an annoyed look. "...Pyay, mice. How many mice? One, two, three, four...?"
inourhead
"Yyyyyeah, I'll have that for you in just a second."
The guy runs off and comes back with a little plastic box with eight live white mice in it. "Eleven ninety-five."
unblinkered
Max hands over his credit card, and hands Pyay the box of mice.
"...Jerk." he mutters, when they're out of earshot. "Even if I was off some kind of meds... kids've got no respect."
"...Jerk." he mutters, when they're out of earshot. "Even if I was off some kind of meds... kids've got no respect."
inourhead
When they are outside of the store, Pyay pauses to remove the dead mice from her cage. She then picks up very small pieces of grit from the ground near the decorative shrubbery outside the storefront, and puts down larger pieces of grit and smaller dead mice. She puts her new mice in with the remaining live ones from her initial supply. One of them immediately falls asleep. Holding the last of the new mice, she extends her hand in Max's direction. "You?" she asks politely.
unblinkered
Max watches the... what was it, mweelsrow, with interest. She can just... size? With the other things, he could have imagined... something changing color, something changing texture, something siphoning ATP... but those were bits of rock. The things-inside-rocks don't have anything in common with things-inside-mice...
But he's not especially shocked, which surprises him enough to make up for itself. He should be seeing this as a paradigm shift, a new wrinkle in his ideas about how her magic works, but... perhaps...
And then she offers him a mouse.
"Me? You can... mweelsrow my sleep to mouse?"
But he's not especially shocked, which surprises him enough to make up for itself. He should be seeing this as a paradigm shift, a new wrinkle in his ideas about how her magic works, but... perhaps...
And then she offers him a mouse.
"Me? You can... mweelsrow my sleep to mouse?"
unblinkered
He's not sure whether... would it even be safe? Does swapping things rely on detailed knowledge of what the things are made of? If Earth human biology is different from Nloggy biology... could something go wrong?
Max can't think of how to ask those questions, and elects to have them answered directly.
"OK," he says, slowly. "Uh, OK means yes."
Max can't think of how to ask those questions, and elects to have them answered directly.
"OK," he says, slowly. "Uh, OK means yes."
inourhead
"Words, words," she mutters, and she touches his hand, and puts his tirendess in the mouse and then puts the mouse away to sleep it off.
unblinkered
...It's a bizarre feeling. It's not like drinking coffee- almost the opposite, and a lot faster. He doesn't feel more energized, mentally, but rather his whole body suddenly feels the way it does when he gets out of bed. He hadn't realized there was even a noticeable difference- the change, after all, is normally gradual. He jumps, and then moves around experimentally.
unblinkered
Everything seems to be fine- there's parts of his brain trying to figure out what just happened, and there's parts of his brain trying to tell the other parts that they know what just happened, and they're having trouble communicating, but otherwise there are no adverse effects.
He walks to the car, and...
...isn't sure where to go from here, actually.
He walks to the car, and...
...isn't sure where to go from here, actually.
inourhead
She follows him, apparently convinced that he does know where to go from here. "What?" she inquires.
unblinkered
So...
He could call up Gloria and see if she's figured something out.
Or... he could drive her down to Rutgers-Newark's physics department, get their people started on figuring her out. 'In addition to, if not instead of'... that's what Gloria said, right?
He sits in the driver's seat. "We go school- not Gloria school. Person try... send? Send Pyay Nloggy."
He could call up Gloria and see if she's figured something out.
Or... he could drive her down to Rutgers-Newark's physics department, get their people started on figuring her out. 'In addition to, if not instead of'... that's what Gloria said, right?
He sits in the driver's seat. "We go school- not Gloria school. Person try... send? Send Pyay Nloggy."
inourhead
She blinks at him, then either gives up on understanding or figures out enough of what he said to get along with, and gets in the car.
unblinkered
He gets on the road. He makes sure his phone is on- it's been a while, Gloria might call at any time. Though... he doesn't know how long it takes to explain this kind of situation to child services.
Speaking of child services... oh, hell. Seatbelts. He stops and pulls over.
"Pyay- need 'seatbelt'. Seatbelt safe." He points out the seatbelt and plug thing, then demonstrates his own seatbelt.
Speaking of child services... oh, hell. Seatbelts. He stops and pulls over.
"Pyay- need 'seatbelt'. Seatbelt safe." He points out the seatbelt and plug thing, then demonstrates his own seatbelt.