Prime brings Aya to Tayane, when he has enough mana for the trip and she's reviewed her old notes about the things she'll need to know. They split up once in town - she speaks a few sentences of Esevi so he'll be able to communicate, and she heads to the market office alone so it doesn't look like he's trying to steal her.
She goes barefoot, blank-heeled.
No time has passed. The fellow behind the counter recognizes her. "What are you doing back here?"
"I claim Aelare's blessing," says Aya firmly. "I want my papers updated."
"Your cart fell into a magic?" surmises the clerk.
"Yes, and I'm -" She lifts her foot to show off her clean heel.
This makes it much easier for the security guard manning the door to knock her over and get her hands and feet in shackles.
They pat her down; they take her necklace, they take the mirror Prime gave her in case she ran into any trouble, they take her holy water and hit her when she tries to speak to Prime or Perinixu for help and she doesn't get any words out. They haul her into a side room.
"AELARE'S BLESSING," exclaims Aya. "Look at my -"
"Wrong province, as of last week," says the clerk. "In Tharlo the gods aren't allowed to steal any recoverable property anymore. Were there any other survivors from the accident?"
Aya stares at him.
He slaps her hard across the face and repeats his question.
Aya murmurs, "No, sir."
-------
She doesn't look like she's pushing a century of age.
No time has passed.
She has - she still has? - her grace, when she's made to shuffle into a different holding pen. But the magic could have done that.
Magics can do anything.
No time has passed.
Magics can do anything. A magic could give her minor augmented abilities. It would be trivially easy to find a new outfit and a necklace and little bottles of water inside one.
Magics have been known to alter memory. They won't give her her belongings back to check to see if the water and the mirror really connect to people on the other ends.
And no time has passed.
darkest_evening
"All right. And if it doesn't - I will go be very angry at things until they realize that trying to keep you as a slave is a very bad idea."
darkest_evening
"I'll keep the bodycount down," he says lightly. "I think I did admirably earlier, considering. Though I did hit a rather - slow man over the head. ... Several times."
darkest_evening
"He's alive, certainly. I can check on him when I'm not so low on mana."
namesthesky
Aya unpeels the bandage from her heel, so it doesn't look like she's hiding anything, and starts looking for a hotel, holding Adarin's hand.
...Partly for headache reasons.
Eventually she finds a little inn with a fountain in front that looks nice and reasonably priced. In she goes.
They have already done the thing where he is her pillow. She gets them one room. The receptionist gives them keys and directions up the stairs.
...Partly for headache reasons.
Eventually she finds a little inn with a fountain in front that looks nice and reasonably priced. In she goes.
They have already done the thing where he is her pillow. She gets them one room. The receptionist gives them keys and directions up the stairs.
darkest_evening
And then, when they are upstairs:
"Are you all right? Physically, I understand you're fine, but ah - emotionally?"
"Are you all right? Physically, I understand you're fine, but ah - emotionally?"
darkest_evening
Scooping. Scooping and snuggling is a thing that's going to occur. Also, hairpetting.
"I exist," he assures softly.
"I exist," he assures softly.
namesthesky
"You probably want to go to sleep."
Alas, he probably wants to go to sleep.
Here Ends This Thread