"It goes to... Wherever your clothes go when you shift. Unavailable and not functioning, but no one could steal them, at least."

"I wonder at what point a Tail Ornament of Gyges would kick in. It might make sense, for something I'd be most likely to want to use while in sphinx form, if it didn't have, like, a prolonged boot time."

"It would show up for use when you had a tail, I'd say. Medallion magic is weird like that. I wouldn't know how long a Tail Ornament of Gyges would take to work, but assumingly... Instantly? If made right?"

"When I was practicing over the weekend it turns out if I'm wearing sufficiently loose pants the tail doesn't even have to stick out, so that's going on the list of projects to consider for the long term." She opens up her notebook and starts this list.

Darren nods. "Good idea. But if I knew how to make an item of invisibility I would have one, so... That is nearing epic wizard levels and I am not there yet. I'm not able to say, 'Oh, yeah, sure, this is how you make a Tail Ornament of Gyges.'"

"How long have you been practicing?"

"About a year and a half? Or so? I started before dad got custody, but I had to do lots of it in secret because - well, magic. Kinda not the type of thing you do in public."

"Okay. Roughly how many hours a week, and how much do you think I'll be sped up because I'll have a teacher?"

"Hmm. It varies a bit, but usually... Twenty-ish hours a week? Sometimes more, sometimes less. Depends on how much homework I have and if I'm trying to accomplish anything specific in magic. Having a teacher will speed you up to where I am, but I couldn't tell you by how much, I've never been a magic teacher before. Once you're at where I am I would only be good in a peer-review sense, or splitting up what we study so we can tell each other about them later with less time sunk into it."

"Right, I meant sped up in a playing-catchup sense, not necessarily beyond, though division of labor and peer review will probably be a big deal too. Darren, I am not sure I'm going to have any time to actually learn Dungeons and Dragons, although I might let you explain it to me in enough detail that I can pretend that's why I'm at your house all the time."

He snickers. "Kinda understandable. Magic basically replaced Dungeons and Dragons for me, anyway. I just miss it sometimes."

"Maybe when you are an epic wizard in real life that will be sufficiently satisfying."

"That's my hope! It'll be lots of fun to just - be super magic."

"Yes. We will be the most wizardy winged quadrupeds ever." Bella holds up her hand for a high-five.

High-five! "Yeah! It'll be great. I'm so glad I have a magic-buddy, now!"

"I'm glad I don't have to dive into volatile Chemistrylike Magic without a teacher!"

Darren snorts with laughter. "It's fun but also not really. I am very careful."

"And here I am to reap the rewards of your exquisite care."

"Go for it. I'm very pro-sharing of knowledge."

"I know. I found that out before I knew anything else about you."

He snickers. "I would be disappointed in you if you hadn't figured it out by now."

"You do not have a slow student, promise."

"Good! Want to get started properly, then?"

"Yes please. Overview - what is there to it besides runes? I think you mentioned chanting?"