That's a yes. "Um. Um. I've barely acknowledged it to myself and - old social anxieties are coming up is all. You're pretty. I am trying not to think about that. I know there are signals, there are rules, if you get them wrong people will care and I frequently mess those sort of things up and the social butterflies have this really annoying smug cutesy disdain for the - the - grubby mechanic and I compensate by either rambling or explaining my thoughts a lot, except being flustered also makes me talk a lot, and this is kind of a formula to have me rant for hours if I let it get out of hand and I'm already ranting aren't I?"

"Little bit. And I like to think I'm not a social butterfly, in that way. I--sound dismissive of engineering and machines, sometimes, because I can't do a thing with them and I'm awfully blase about it, but you have a skill that I don't, and you're good at it, and I respect that. What you do is important.

And I've never been much of a one for rules."

"Yeah I haven't been getting any 'smug disdain social butterfly' off you and I do fine if I'm not thinking about it, usually, but now I am thinking about it and wondering how to make it so nobody with bad social opinions can hurt me which is probably the wrong response. Good to hear."

"I wish this went without saying but I won't tell a soul without your permission."

"I mean, you can maybe... Most of that was flinch and then chain reaction of worry? The fact that I slipped and said something about it had me shivering. Edie and Emily can know if they'll not blab either, and it becomes relevant somehow."

"...Yeah, I can see that. I won't tell them without reason, but I can't imagine they would."

"And now I am done talking about this. I should explain tesla cannons. They're probably the biggest threat we don't have a good answer for yet."

"Yes, do tell me about Tesla cannons."

"Tesla didn't actually invent them he made the theory then went crazy and wandered around Siberia for years and died but - this isn't relevant. Tesla cannons hit their target with two things... A lightning bolt, then a ball of plasma that follows the lightning's path. It's scarily effective. There's this... Sort of leading mechanism, it involves ions, but it makes the lightning want to follow a certain path? And then the plasma follows the lightning's path, mostly? Oh, they're," wince, "Dangerous to be near, being unshielded near one when it shoots will electrocute you. Destroying one that's not powered down gets you electric arcing and maybe an explosion. Am I explaining this out of order?"

"I don't think so."

"...What you really need is the instinct of when one's about to go off, where it'll probably go, and how much damage it'll do, I really can't think of a way to put that into words."

"Edie has a telepathy spell that does nonverbal."

"Huh! Well, define 'telepathy'?"

"Purely communicative, it doesn't let her just read your mind or anything."

"She probably has one that does that given her moniker, though. But purely communicative I can do. D'you know where she is?"

"Oh, she does, but it's really obvious. Conjures a full-length mirror. I think she went outside."

"I think I'll go find her. Be back soon."

"Of course."

She walks outside and tries to locate Edie. Those bright outfits probably won't be hard to pick out.

They are not!

If they're flying, she shouts up a greeting. If not, she walks in that direction.

They are standing by the lake and talking.

"Hello! Edie! I started talking about Tesla cannons and realized what you really need to know is not very... Word-able. And Hero said you can do telepathy."

"I can!"

She explains Tesla cannons again, fast version. Pilot beam, lightning strike, plasma bomb. Dangerous to be near when firing or being destroyed. "...And all the subtle things like judging exactly how much damage it'll do, or how to pick one out, and so on... That's probably better done with telepathy."