"Uh... Store?" The tenta pet blurbles and moves away. Lenora flops onto the bed with a long sigh. "Yeah, me too. We didn't get to have any for weeks on that locomotive... But done for now. I bet the Moloch's cabins are roomier."

"I bet they are." 

Thorn cuddles in and draws the covers over the two of them. She rests her head on Lenora's shoulder. 

"Alas, I think it's time for me to take this off." She pulls the silk scarf free. "There. No enchanting innocent bystanders. We forgot the empathy charms, but I kind of doubt we needed them."

She hums. "I want to snuggle until I'm done snuggling and then we should leave. I think we've mostly used up this visit."

"...Oh, right, it's not infinite. A benefit. Pretty nice benefit."

Cuddle. "Work will be exciting and fulfilling, with so much of a budget and a mandate to explore. Thrilling, even."

"Yeah." Nuzzle. "I'm looking forwards to it. Especially given all those hours will buy me more time here with you."

"Here and now where it's warm and we're together, comfortable. Can't buy love. And I'm pretty sure it is that, going by your definition."

"No, you can't buy love." She smiles. "But there are a lot of love accessories. Though I don't think I need much, I just want to be with you. Travelling the skies or tucked together beneath the bedsheets, I want to be with you."

"I didn't expect it. But here we are."

Kiss. On the nearest available skin, which happens to be a shoulder.

"I didn't really expect it either. We just... turned out to match." She lays her head against Lenora and smiles. 

"It's really nice."

"It is." Nuzzle. 

"What kinds of magic are out there that you can learn? A long term plan would be nice. Hannah has skills and the good life, sounds like. The Correspondence probably counts as magic you can learn, but it's supposed to be devilishly hard and easy to kill yourself with a mistake..."

"Fortunately you have insurance against that now. So long as you leave detailed records... You could be the first to really learn the magic system. Might be a bit aggressive, but..." 

She shrugs. "Or you could learn the magic from my home plane, the one that my tattoos record. That'd be easier and have less risk of needing to use your backups." 

"Oh, Judgements and Messengers and the like know the Correspondence. They're fluent, even. First human to really learn it, maybe. I think something out of context has more chance of interacting usefully at home anyway..."

She pets Lenora's hair. "Mhm. That makes sense. I'll get you a spellbook and an introductory text, there's a lot you can do even at first circle." She fishes in the side table and pulls out the relevant books.

"That's convenient. I want to keep snuggling for now though. Maybe you can tell me the basics."

"Alright." 

She snuggles in and starts going over the basics of magical theory. She used to be one of the best casters in the world she came from; she can't remember most of that now, but she has the bones of it still. She tries to convey them, sometimes haltingly, sometimes like she's done it a hundred times before. It's complex, rather like memorizing the positions of things in five-dimensional space. 

She pets Lenora's hair as she goes through it.

She nods along and asks questions and seems to be understanding things, somewhat. She's not the fastest at it. The notion of preparing spells ahead of time and then using them up like ammunition sounds handy. Eventually she'd like to just cuddle in silence for a while. And after a while of that, she puts her underwear back on and tries out a basic routine from the pole-dancing manual, somewhat clumsily, and finds it uses a lot of muscles she's not used to using like that. It's fun though.

(And when they go back through to the OTC office and get to work arranging a warehouse and a fire sale of lots of various commodities, she goes shopping for various useful magical bits and bobs... And takes the can of tenta-pet along with her. Once a month is not too often at all.)

They're busy over the next couple of days. Aside from making sure that the hospital gets something useful for their trouble, Lenora makes a point to bring Thorn to the jazz concert, no matter how much there is to do. It's fast and exciting and there's lots of dancing and she's laughing as they leave, and then they go back to the warehouse to meet another buyer...

The Moloch-class liner is a beast of a locomotive, a shining machine of brass and steam that gives off an almost predatory feel, with carpet you can lose your toes in. The furnishings are luxurious, the cabins spacious. There is a small device deep in the engine room designed to combust souls, in a pinch. They have the best available engine installed, as well as an observation device, a mining device, extra Bronzewood plating, some Cabinets of Holding, the Eternal Battery hooked to the headlight and internal electric lights, and improved galley and plumbing situations.

All that's left is to find a crew- And the pair of them are the subject of a great amount of gossip with all these sudden purchases. Shouldn't be so difficult.

She enjoys watching Lenora's early attempts at pole-dancing and magical theory. It feels lovely and powerful, like she's watching a baby bird take its first steps knowing it will one day control a giant mecha. They have forever and this is what the beginning of that looks like. 

The jazz concert sweeps her off her feet. She dances, she sings along, she makes sure Lenora is thoroughly kissed because this was a great idea, she wishes she could get recordings. But no. This moment means something no recording can capture fully. 

Then it's back to business. She makes sure the hospital gets at least the basics from her world - Eternal wands of Cure Disease, Neutralize Poison, Cure Serious Wounds, and so on. She considers offering a supply of Ka but reconsiders - it shows too much of the OTC's hand, even now. 

Managing the fire sale is stressful, but goes surprisingly smoothly. There are some questions as to the origin of all these goods, but Thorn ducks them reasonably artfully. Some of their buyers may be under the impression that they're Marauders selling a good haul, but Thorn is known to have been on a tour with Captain DeVries so it can't have been a recent haul. And Lenora has a good reputation and is associated, so what the hell's going on? Is she from the Establishment? Is she from the Isambard Line? Is she, is she, is she? They ask but the truth is so out there that few of them come anywhere close to the reality. 

The Moloch reminds her of the Rose Bowers in a way. It is just so itself. And the luxury is comparable, if you set aside the more esoteric aspects. Fully-kitted out it's rather intimidating to think that she's responsible for it. But she is. 

She talks to the Promise of Days, checks on her order of Hours. She puts the word around that she's looking for good signallers, quartermasters and chief engineers. (Lenora, of course, is her First Officer.) Pay highly negotiable. She wants the best. The same applies to crew; she offers twice the going rate and considers that almost still a rip-off, privately. 

Meanwhile, Lenora falls in love a little bit more watching her smoothly deflect the bad kinds of interest at the fire sale. There's something fun about being in on the secret.

Someone has scrounged up five barrels of Hours for her. Two of the barrels are full of sub-par Hours, but there are five of them! There are kind of a lot of questions about her. Mostly 'where the hell did you get all that stuff', of course. 'What do you intend to do now' is up there too.

The bloods at the Promise of days ask her to sit with them.

She pays for the barrels as agreed, of course. They're no secret, just another purchase. She's been making a lot of purchases.

There was an old warehouse in the abandoned part of town that held all this stuff. She inherited that warehouse and all its contents, or so the bribed owner of the property will say. Fortunately most of it was still salvageable; here's a water-damaged crate of tea would you be interested in buying it? If you are particularly persistent and in charge, here is some psychic paper displaying a quite ironclad will and if she turns the page there's a writ of inheritance for the warehouse. She's quite willing to produce other documents upon request.

She intends to take up exploration using the funds raised from liquidating the warehouse. She wants to venture all across the Reach, Albion and Eleutheria. Maybe visit the Blue Kingdom too. Once she's seen all there is to see, she'll likely settle into the Hours trade. 

She understands that the invitation is not necessarily a request, and accepts.

The Plucky Baroness raises a glass of wine. "Congratulations! I was surprised to hear that a relative unknown was the one who purchased that lovely machine that's been for sale for so long, rather than Ms. Lovejoy leading the pair of you two, but I'm sure it'll serve you well. We'd offer you some supplies for the journey, but you seem to have it well in hand. Gifts for new captains of any sort of merit are a tradition, however- So, advice. For two days you may bring me names and I will tell you if they are good sorts, to my knowledge."

The Masked Citizen taps the table. "You're hiding something. The story is too convenient and there are... Oddities. I am certain of it. That's not necessarily a deal-breaker. Many people are hiding many things. Here." He passes over a small folded paper. "Compendium of common signals for various, less than legal, groups. Fairly outdated. Probably not useless. I'll be watching you."

"It's not actually impossible for her to have inherited an old warehouse. The thing is," 'Spatchcocker' Meg continues, "Some secrets are a lot more dangerous than others. If you're joining the ranks of explorers, my advice is to get some big guns and a good gunner. And know when to run like hell and when to fight. If you intend to head to Eleutheria, watch out for Grievers. Scaly, mostly mouth, hard to describe. They hate the light."

The Bedeviled Diadict says, "I am always on the hunt for- Er- More information from distant locales. There are a great number of subjects that interest me, or a colleague I can pass the information on to. Any unusual discoveries, you may show them to me for possible identification or sale. And since we're doing advice, d-do not pry into the affairs of the stars if you value your life."

She smiles and halfbows to the Plucky Baroness. "We're partners, Ms. Lovejoy and myself, and she has an equal stake in the engine. But thank you exceedingly. Lenora's experience might have been enough, but I won't hesitate to have an experienced captain check over my hires."

She nods to the Masked Citizen. "This fire sale has attracted a lot of attention, it's no secret. But if it'll give me the chance to fly the skies, it's worth it. I'll let others speculate; you know my side of the story. I will however accept your manual of signals, and thank you honestly for the thought. Anything to be able to communicate honestly, even with the dishonest." She smiles like a cat.

"Lenora's that," she says to "Spatchcocker" Meg, "And I'm glad of it. She comes with her own big gun, too. As for your advice - I'll do my best to judge when to fight and when to flee, and watch out for Grievers as well. Thank you." 

"And I'll remember your offer, Didact, for I'm sure I'll find all kinds of strange things among the stars. And I'll recall your advice when I think to dig too deeply into matters above my station." 

She smiles. "Thank you all once more. With your support and advice I believe I'm sure to succeed. Pride goeth before a fall, of course, but - let's hope things go well." 

"Pride is a sin," the Masked Citizen comments, "But all the fun things are sins, anyway." Meg laughs and slaps him too hard on the arm.

"You'll either earn it or die trying, I'm sure," the Baroness says. "I hear you don't drink or I'd have you buy our next round. As it is, good luck."

"I'll buy your next round anyway and just not drink with you, I think that's allowed. And thank you for the good luck."

"Cheers!"

She'll get enough regular crew, at double pay, to fill out the roster with experienced sorts even on short notice and as an entirely new captain. Though she does have to do a bit of talking up the joy of the sky and how amazing the Moloch is and assuaging vague fears. Competent officers are a bit thinner on the ground.

A Devilish Technician finds her at the bar after a while, with golden eyes and breath smelling faintly of brimstone. He's wearing a suit. He presents a small pad of paper. "My references. Or simply ask the Baroness. I understand you have come into ownership of a remarkable machine and intend to adventure. I may not be the most capable engineer in the High Wilderness, but I am sure I would serve well. In addition to Sovereigns, of course, my desired payment may be a bit esoteric- And I do not mean souls."