"Okay. So I guess I've got to do experimentation."

"Yeah. I can suggest things - there's a lot of spells, but there's some pretty common patterns, out there - especially until you get your zeroths down."

"I was practicing with a few when we met."

"What can you do so far?"

"Mostly the telekinesis thing. And another that does a lot of small stuff, clean things, straighten them."

"Hmmm... First sounds like Mage Hand. Second sounds like Prestidigitation, which's admittedly sometimes kind've a catch-all term for little utility spells like that. You'll almost certainly have your own little version, but - there's only so much you can do with zeroths, and people've figured out strategies for getting the most out of those."

She nods.

She explains some of the gestures and phrases used to bring both spells more under the practitioner's control - "Though I'd recommend training yourself to do without these in a pinch, too, especially for more powerful spells. There's spells that can prevent all sound in an area, and of course you don't want magic that can be beaten by tying you up..."

"Only if it was very exciting."

She grins. "Of course, distractions can create issues with casting too..."

"I bet."

"And a responsible spellcaster practices in all plausible conditions."

"Is that the advanced course?"

"Oh, absolutely. Metamagic Two-oh-one."

"I'll have to do my best so I can advance, then."

"No problem for a promising student like you."

She hums.

Smile.

"Probably best to set out soon - that way I'll be able to watch the first few hours' travel before needing to sleep - oh and also eat dinner..."

"Sounds good."

Navigation happens in a cabin on one end of the deck, small enough Ellie and Villanelle are in fairly close quarters, especially if Ellie wants a good look at what Villanelle's doing. There's a few paper maps on the walls or folded up, but there's mostly crystals; Villanelle demonstrates the use of a magic item that, when a crystal is inserted, will display 3D maps. The crystals are kept in carefully labeled little boxes, and have small labels on their base.

Actually programming the destination involves one of those maps and a control panel which Villanelle explains the use of. "You can use Prestidigitation here, actually - makes it faster, and I've got my own way of casting it keyed into the system as a sort of password so other people can't take off with my ship."

"Smart. Is it possible to copy your way of casting?"

"Yeah. But it's hard, especially if you're not standing there watching me - if someone's good enough at magic to copy my casting without me teaching them, I likely have other problems."

"So you need to have a map to a place before you can go there?"

"Depends. I could also enter the coordinates manually, if, say, I found some scribbled in the margin of a wizard's notebook. And I could take the helm myself, and then go wherever."

She nods.