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Time passes. Canada is cooperative about portals and now there's one each in Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver, on a second floor of the hub with customs agents Isabella is tolerating for the time being as long as they're well-behaved. Japan and Australia and the UK all follow suit at roughly the same time, so then there are portals in their big cities, too, a couple new ones per week. Other nations are slated to trickle in as they handle their red tape to deal with sudden new national borders that don't have the built-in delay of airplanes. Some of the parking garages are being replaced with custom-built installations. Isabella pays off her loan, renegotiates for the continued use of her shiny credit card, and has reason to be grateful for her retained law firm, which is kept busy by frivolous lawsuits by airline companies. She's not appreciably cutting into their traffic yet - sure, the price point is dropping, but they're still competitive. They can just smell their own demise coming from a mile away.
Five witches besides Isabella ward the colony site. Robots guard the site of the portal, obligingly letting colonists through during scheduled trips and reporting to Isabella by mirror if anybody else shows up. Other robots help the colonists with setting up their farms and houses in the warded area. It'll hold a city, no problem, although another transfer of silks and bags to pay for warding a second site is going to be called for before they get literally everyone across, since in addition to city they need farmland, and since they can't build vertically as effectively as fully industrialized Earthlings or the deceased aliens.
One day:
"It's been exactly a year now since you crashed my picnic. Let's go to a fancy restaurant and celebrate."
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dark_light
dark_light
"The fact that I'll be annoyed with you if you use magic to get out of an unsavory situation," says Isabella archly. "The fact that you probably wouldn't recognize a likely possible deadly weapon if you saw one. The fact that you aren't familiar with local customs and laws. I do not understand why mages keep thinking they can drop into American metropolises and be anything less than hilariously unprepared."
prodigal_miser
"Well, to be fair, there's absolutely no frame of reference to compare them with. Out largest cities before the invasion don't compare to what you have here."
dark_light
"Welcome to Chicago," says Isabella, gesturing at the city as they approach it from the shore. "The Windy City."
It has tall buildings and lights and cars and people in it.
It has tall buildings and lights and cars and people in it.
ofthefallen
"... Hm," says Xiara. "That's something I haven't seen before."
And that's the end of Xiara's commentary. Her cat prances along behind her, looking up towards the buildings but otherwise unaffected.
And that's the end of Xiara's commentary. Her cat prances along behind her, looking up towards the buildings but otherwise unaffected.
dark_light
"Don't walk in the streets unless you see somebody else who knows what the hell they're doing going right there, right then," says Isabella, "or you are likely to be arrested and/or hit by one of the cars."
ofthefallen
"I was not going to walk in front of the large, fast moving, metal magical constructs. I am not an idiot."
dark_light
"Even if you don't see a car coming, I don't think I'd recommend jaywalking," says Isabella. "You don't know the traffic laws, you don't know how fast they corner or their stopping distance. Okay, there's a Sheraton, we can put you in the Sheraton." She leads everybody to the Sheraton.
silkhiding
Seraphina seems to have lost her voice and is just going to meekly follow. This is such a big city, with such - scary things.
ofthefallen
"Mm." She eyes a pedestrian crossing the road at a crosswalk, and notes the procedure there, as she follows Isabella. "The small paths across the road, only, I expect."
dark_light
"The crosswalks when the light-up box facing you on the corner you want to walk to says Walk or has a sillhouette of a little dude," says Isabella.
Here is the Sheraton. Isabella inquires if they have a two-bed room open. They do! How fortunate.
Here is the Sheraton. Isabella inquires if they have a two-bed room open. They do! How fortunate.
ofthefallen
"Simple enough."
How incredibly fortunate indeed! They must look very strange, but Xiara does not look like she cares in the slightest.
How incredibly fortunate indeed! They must look very strange, but Xiara does not look like she cares in the slightest.
dark_light
The person behind the desk doesn't comment on the period clothing. He takes Isabella's shiny black credit card, and looks sort of worried when she gives him her phone number too to call "if there are any problems; they're from very far away and might not understand how this works".
silkhiding
Seraphina assures the person behind the desk in English, "We won't cause any trouble, we're just - not familiar with the area, and this is the first time I've been in a - hotel."
Her accent is noticeably better than Xiara's. It actually rivals Adarin's extremely clear accent, though she speaks slower and more carefully. She's good with her voice, not familiar with the language.
Her accent is noticeably better than Xiara's. It actually rivals Adarin's extremely clear accent, though she speaks slower and more carefully. She's good with her voice, not familiar with the language.
dark_light
"Like I said," says Isabella, "charge their stuff to my card and if there is a problem, call me. My boyfriend and I are going to see them up to their room to settle them in but we won't be staying."
"Of course," says the clerk, and he hands over two keycards and Isabella leads everybody to the elevator.
"Of course," says the clerk, and he hands over two keycards and Isabella leads everybody to the elevator.
silkhiding
Seraphina looks between Isabella and Adarin, confused. When they're heading to the elevator, she asks, "... Why aren't you two married yet?"
dark_light
"Why would we need to be?" Isabella pushes the elevator call button and an elevator reveals itself to them and she ushers everybody in.
silkhiding
"Because you very obviously love each other?" says Seraphina, confused. "And if you were married it would be harder for anyone to - challenge, or do anything about."
dark_light
"I really don't see how it would help. We wouldn't be sending engraved wedding announcements to those people." Isabella pats Adarin's arm and presses the number 5 on the wall and the elevator starts going up.
silkhiding
"No, of course not, but it's - harder for anyone to weasel their way into thinking that they have a chance to end your relationship. If he is your boyfriend, he can break up with you and that's it, if he is your husband, there's - it's harder to do, harder to walk away from. They would recognize that."
dark_light
"And then they learn that the divorce rate in this country is fifty percent and then where would we be? If they were paying attention they'd already know that it's statistically unlikely to pry a witch off her lover whether there's a legal marriage in place or not."
The elevator dings, and the door opens on a hall of hotel rooms. Isabella compares the signage with the number written on the keycard envelope and leads the way.
The elevator dings, and the door opens on a hall of hotel rooms. Isabella compares the signage with the number written on the keycard envelope and leads the way.