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Adarin's magic has some advantages over witchcraft, but it is imperfect. Still, over time, mana recovers, and in this time Metis's hospitality does not run out.
They watch Harry Potter, Adarin is introduced to Wikipedia, he makes the second thingamajig. Isabella interrogates her alethiometer.
It's kind of cryptic about whether she has to fear being a "crazy witch". But she's tentatively optimistic and still brainstorming new ways to format the question. (She complains about the alethiometer being bad at numbers and at "yes" and "no".)
It can, however, identify landmarks by referring to whatever they're named after. It's not so hard to interpret on the subject of where she may find a place to claim. She moves into it, Adarin in tow, Metis retained as a friendly advisor but apprenticeship terminated. The place has plumbing and a generator already; she gets satellite Internet for an entire half-day of spellcasting and collects a hand-me-down laptop from a mortal friend of her mother's. She sets up arrangements for building a nice big wall along the edge of a clearing on her appropriated property. It's a very busy couple of weeks.
Eventually she tries asking the alethiometer a fifteenth way whether she's prone to crazy witchitude. Whether she'd ever hurt someone she loved if they rejected her, or even threaten it.
The alethiometer says: love violence counter-to querent nature.
She's starting to get the hang of interpreting it, even if most of the practice has involved getting the addresses (via intersection and cardinal direction because it can't give her anything so useful as house number or latitude) and this is - this is pretty damn good.
This is good enough.
Of course, that's not all the answer she needs, is it?
Path goes looking for Vernaia.
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dark_light
prodigal_miser
He considers the possibility of running, but after the third trip over something stupid, Adarin deems that idea unworkable. He’d fall, again, and maybe his resolve would crack like delicate porcelain and he’d collapse into a heap and just give in to the pain. So he walks.
Step, step, step.
The pain’s still growing, in his head, with every step he makes – Adarin feels like his head’s being hijacked to think of nothing but Vernaia, nothing but how he could have gotten out of doing this or making it easier or – or a thousand other things. There’s always a better way to do things, always a smarter path to take, always a clever trick. He should have tried to think of one – he should have asked the alethiometer if teleporting would have worked or if it would have just killed him. He could just go back and grab the alethiometer and ask, or get Isabella to fly him, she offered, or a thousand better ideas than ‘Walk really far until it doesn’t hurt anymore.’
It would be easy to just turn around and stop, and buckle under this. It would be so absurdly, ridiculously simple to just stop trying.
He doesn’t. He keeps walking. It’s quite possibly the longest walk he’s ever had, though he’s got no doubt he’s walked much farther. All the while, he thinks, debates, chastised himself and above all hurts – but he doesn’t stop walking.
When it stops, when the bond finally just snaps, he’s so surprised that he nearly falls over, catching himself on a nearby tree. Then he laughs again, with relief.
Fumbling a little, he retrieves the spelled mirror, from its place in a jacket. “Did it,” he tells it, and by proxy, Isabella. When he gets back, he’s going to cuddle Vern for the next century, while eating the rest of the gummy worms.
Vern whimpers, shivering and crying.
She devolves into whimpery gibberings, snuggling Path while sobbing. She's given up on the door, she just wants Adarin to come back.
"He promised he'd come back, I want him back, this was a bad idea and I'm sorry," is one of her better sentences. The others follow a similar vein, punctuated by sobs and whimpering. She is not going to improve until Adarin returns, it seems.
Step, step, step.
The pain’s still growing, in his head, with every step he makes – Adarin feels like his head’s being hijacked to think of nothing but Vernaia, nothing but how he could have gotten out of doing this or making it easier or – or a thousand other things. There’s always a better way to do things, always a smarter path to take, always a clever trick. He should have tried to think of one – he should have asked the alethiometer if teleporting would have worked or if it would have just killed him. He could just go back and grab the alethiometer and ask, or get Isabella to fly him, she offered, or a thousand better ideas than ‘Walk really far until it doesn’t hurt anymore.’
It would be easy to just turn around and stop, and buckle under this. It would be so absurdly, ridiculously simple to just stop trying.
He doesn’t. He keeps walking. It’s quite possibly the longest walk he’s ever had, though he’s got no doubt he’s walked much farther. All the while, he thinks, debates, chastised himself and above all hurts – but he doesn’t stop walking.
When it stops, when the bond finally just snaps, he’s so surprised that he nearly falls over, catching himself on a nearby tree. Then he laughs again, with relief.
Fumbling a little, he retrieves the spelled mirror, from its place in a jacket. “Did it,” he tells it, and by proxy, Isabella. When he gets back, he’s going to cuddle Vern for the next century, while eating the rest of the gummy worms.
Vern whimpers, shivering and crying.
She devolves into whimpery gibberings, snuggling Path while sobbing. She's given up on the door, she just wants Adarin to come back.
"He promised he'd come back, I want him back, this was a bad idea and I'm sorry," is one of her better sentences. The others follow a similar vein, punctuated by sobs and whimpering. She is not going to improve until Adarin returns, it seems.
dark_light
"Do you want a ride?" Isabella asks him in the mirror. "It sounds like she's not mad at you - sometimes they're mad but she just wants you back."
prodigal_miser
"A ride would be fantastic," he says. "I have no idea where I am."
dark_light
"I'll find you, sit tight." She gets aloft, gets enough altitude to spot him, and dives.
"Are you okay?"
"Are you okay?"
prodigal_miser
"No. Not at all," explains Adarin. "But I can manage."
He looks like he had a few run ins with the ground and some branches. Motor functions were one of the first things to go, apparently.
He looks like he had a few run ins with the ground and some branches. Motor functions were one of the first things to go, apparently.
dark_light
"I'll patch you up, but first let's get you back to Vern." When he's on the branch, up and back they go.
prodigal_miser
"Thank you." Onto the branch, then a very fast walk to the basement and to Vernaia. "She's alright? You're sure?"
dark_light
"Unharmed, not happy, but not inclined to avoid you for a week either, which has been known to happen."
prodigal_miser
He winces. "Alright, thank you. I don't know what I'd do if she wanted to avoid me."
dark_light
"They always come back eventually." Here is the house. She lands.
prodigal_miser
"Yes, but I'd still feel... Guilty for doing that."
He is off of the cloudpine fairly quickly, gives Isabella a little smile, and then immediately heads to the basement.
He is off of the cloudpine fairly quickly, gives Isabella a little smile, and then immediately heads to the basement.
dark_light
"Not uncommon," Isabella comments, following at a more relaxed pace, both because running makes her fall over and because she doesn't have a traumatized kagu to comfort.
Path gets out of Adarin's way.
Path gets out of Adarin's way.
prodigal_miser
Vern is immediately cuddled. She curls up with him and sobs, while he sedately pets her and murmurs soothing words in what sounds like his native language.
"Thank you for sitting with her," he says, during a lull in the sobs and soothing words.
"Thank you for sitting with her," he says, during a lull in the sobs and soothing words.
prodigal_miser
He smiles, a little. Isabella's going to just have to accept the fact that she's going to get a hug for Path, since he can't actually touch the little owl.
"It was still good of you. I like thanking people for doing nice things."
Pet, pet, pet. The sobs quiet a little more as time goes on.
"It was still good of you. I like thanking people for doing nice things."
Pet, pet, pet. The sobs quiet a little more as time goes on.
dark_light
"You're welcome," says Path, fluttering to sit on Isabella's arm.
prodigal_miser
Vern nuzzles her mortal, then switches languages.
<"You're not going to leave me?"> she asks, shivering.
Adarin gives her a 'What on earth made you think I would do that' look. <"No?">
<"I'm - a liability, I could get hurt so easily, it would kill us both and I can't do magic, I was scared you'd just leave me here and -">
<"No,"> replies Adarin.
<"Promise?">
<"It's not the kind of thing I'd need to promise. The answer is no. You're stuck with me, I hope you like traumatized crazy mortals.">
Delighted kagu cuddles ensue.
<"You're not going to leave me?"> she asks, shivering.
Adarin gives her a 'What on earth made you think I would do that' look. <"No?">
<"I'm - a liability, I could get hurt so easily, it would kill us both and I can't do magic, I was scared you'd just leave me here and -">
<"No,"> replies Adarin.
<"Promise?">
<"It's not the kind of thing I'd need to promise. The answer is no. You're stuck with me, I hope you like traumatized crazy mortals.">
Delighted kagu cuddles ensue.
dark_light
"You probably would've spoken English if you wanted me to know what you were saying, huh."
prodigal_miser
Adarin smiles. "It was mostly very sappy, anyway."
Yeah, Vern's not mad at him. Cuddle, pet pet pet.
Yeah, Vern's not mad at him. Cuddle, pet pet pet.
dark_light
"Okay."
Isabella goes for her herb collection and finds something to fling at Adarin in a cloud of spicy smells; it vanishes when she completes a healing verse, as do all his injuries less a little sting and mark to indicate where they were.
Isabella goes for her herb collection and finds something to fling at Adarin in a cloud of spicy smells; it vanishes when she completes a healing verse, as do all his injuries less a little sting and mark to indicate where they were.
prodigal_miser
He startles a little at having herbs flung at him, but once the effect takes hold he smiles. "I owe you a hug, at some time in the future."
prodigal_miser
"Thanks - remind me so I don't forget when we've recovered."
Pet, pet, pet. Vern has calmed down quite a bit. The snuggles are less desperate, and more comforting. Their conversation seems to have helped, along with continued cuddles.
Pet, pet, pet. Vern has calmed down quite a bit. The snuggles are less desperate, and more comforting. Their conversation seems to have helped, along with continued cuddles.
dark_light
That's good. Isabella goes and puts her unused portion of this spice back in her kit.
prodigal_miser
Comfortable silence passes for a little while, until Adarin asks, "So, I'm willing to have a house built for you in New Kystle - is this the kind of thing you'd want, or...?"