"...That's not very me."

"I'm not a very good artist and can't do any colors other than the ones in the wax."

"Could I use my fingers?"

"As long as you don't completely remove any of the wax. My power can shape it but not put it back once it's lost in the floorboards or whatever. Do you want to start with it flat?"

"Can I start with the tree and the hill?"

"Sure." She smooths out the picture of the child.

Eefa, as it turns out, isn't actually better than Pelape. But she enjoys trying anyways, scratching out a design with her fingernails.

Pelape chases down wax bits as they go astray.

Well, some of them end up under her fingernails.

She can get those too if she touches Eefa's hands.

It's sort of obvious on her face that she hates this but her hands stay completely still during it anyways.

"- you've got wax under your nails, see?"

Eefa looks. It doesn't make it better.

"...so I'm getting it out. There, all done."

Eefa's hands can be swiftly retracted and hidden inside her shirt now.

Pelape can stop touching her now.

Good!!

The wax tablet can go on the desk and Pelape can go do another shift in the laundry room.

In that case Eefa will be calmed down by the time she gets back, and also about half of the snacks she hid in the sconce will be rehidden somewhere else.

Pelape doesn't think to check. She comes back when she's about ready to go to bed, and does that.

Eefa curls up at her spot a bit away from Pelape and falls asleep too.

And the next day she can meet the local who wants to know about stats.

"Hi! So I've read a math textbook I managed to find in good shape and I've tried to figure out some other stuff on my own but I haven't gotten far and mostly only have been doing what's been useful for helping with the market and such."

"Well, I can't look anything up, but I can remember a lot. Is there a specific question you want to know how to approach?"

"Well I'd like to know more generally but I've been having trouble figuring out how to make predictions about the future of the market other than by drawing some points I know and guessing at a line through them that looks right - I have some ideas how to tell which lines are better but not how to find the best one."