Elspeth isn't sure till she says it, but when she says it, she's sure.

[My particular affinity for Milliways doors is gone. I went too long without using it when we had Jane, and if it comes back at all it will take a long time. Someone may still find one, but we can't expect it to be me or soon.]

She fields some questions - not that many; people tend not to ask Elspeth for clarifications or restatements.

And then she settles Harley on her lap.

"We're stuck in Aurum for a while," she tells him.

Author: her_imperial_radiance	Elspeth isn't sure till she says it, but when she says it, she's sure. [My particular affinity for Milliways doors is gone. I went too long without using it when we had Jane, and if it comes back at all it will take a long time. Someone may still find one, but we can't expect it to be me or soon.] She fields some questions - not that many; people tend not to ask Elspeth for clarifications or restatements. And then she settles Harley on her lap. "We're stuck in Aurum for a while," she tells him.
Author: pythbox	"Oh well," says Harley.
Author: her_imperial_radiance	"Yep. But there's lots to do in Aurum. Do you want to go to the beach today?"
Author: pythbox	"Yeah!" he beams.
Author: her_imperial_radiance	"All right. We will need bathing suits and towels. What colors should I conjure them up to be?" asks Elspeth.
Author: pythbox	"Red!"
Author: her_imperial_radiance	"All of them all red?"
Author: pythbox	"Some pink," he decides.
Author: her_imperial_radiance	"Okay." With this guideline, she wishes on appropriate bathing suits for both of them, in red, and a beach towel that is red with pink stars on it, and then she teleports them both to the Safesun beach. There's a couple of people already there, and it's high noon. Rather than wrestle with the issue of sunscreen she kills a square to protect Harley from burns for the day; she spreads out the towel and sits on it, all aglow.
Author: pythbox	"You're pretty," Harley informs her, poking her knee.
Author: her_imperial_radiance	"Yes, I am. And you're an adorable little tidbit."
Author: pythbox	He giggles and flomps onto the towel, closing his eyes. "Sun's warm," he says. "It's nice. Nice warm sun."
Author: her_imperial_radiance	"Yup. If you go out without asking me or bringing me or someone else with coins along, though, you can get burnt in the sun. I put a wish on you to protect you but it won't last forever."
Author: pythbox	"How much burnt?" he inquires.
Author: her_imperial_radiance	"It depends on how long you stay out. If it's only a few minutes, so little you'd never notice it. If it's many hours, then you could turn bright red and hurt all over and your skin would peel off."
Author: pythbox	Harley giggles. "Icky!"
Author: her_imperial_radiance	"Very icky. It would also itch."
Author: pythbox	"Itchy and icky."
Author: her_imperial_radiance	"And hurty and warm. All those things."
Author: pythbox	He giggles again. "I wanna try it," he declares.
Author: her_imperial_radiance	Elspeth considers this. Then she shrugs and undoes the square. "There you go. The sun will burn you while we're out here. Drink a lot of water and let me know if you want the burn wished gone."
Author: pythbox	"Okay," he says serenely.
Author: her_imperial_radiance	"Do you want some sandcastle-making toys?"
Author: pythbox	"Yeah!" he beams.
Author: her_imperial_radiance	She conjures up suitable toy buckets and shovels. They are pink.
Author: pythbox	Harley giggles and hugs her. Then he starts digging in the sand. He makes a bowl-shaped depression with lumpy, crumbling walls, and then he runs to the edge of the water and fills up his bucket and comes back. Soon he has created a tiny pond.
Author: her_imperial_radiance	Elspeth supervises tranquilly.
Author: pythbox	He knocks a hole in the wall and watches all the water trickle out. Then he patches it up, builds it higher, and runs back and forth to fill it again.
Author: her_imperial_radiance	Awww. She'll just watch unless he decides to invite her to help.
Author: pythbox	He is content to play in the sand by himself, apparently! His pond walls get higher and higher until they collapse on themselves, filling the pond with loose sand. He giggles.
Author: her_imperial_radiance	Elspeth conjures up a book and reads it with half an eye, the rest of her attention on Harley.
Author: pythbox	After a little while, he abandons his pond and comes over to look at her book.
Author: her_imperial_radiance	It's a short story collection. "Would you rather I read to you for a bit than keep working on your pond?" Elspeth asks.
Author: pythbox	"Yeah! Read to me," he says, snuggling up.
Author: her_imperial_radiance	"All right," she says, and she finds something loosely age-appropriate - though Elspeth is not nearly good enough at keeping secrets to sustain this perfectly, she can manage as a general rule - and puts her arm around Harley and reads it aloud.
Author: pythbox	Harley snuggles and listens, gazing at the pages of the book.
Author: her_imperial_radiance	Eventually the story concludes.
Author: pythbox	But the cuddles do not!
Author: her_imperial_radiance	Okay then. Cuddles. Elspeth starts looking for another story acceptable for a toddler.
Author: pythbox	Warm sunny cuddles!
Author: her_imperial_radiance	They've been out long enough that he's getting a little pink. She conjures him a bottle of ice water and hands it over; he wanted to try sunburn, not sunstroke. Then she finds a story that she thinks will be okay and starts reading it.
Author: pythbox	Mmm, water! Water and reading and cuddles.
Author: her_imperial_radiance	All three of those things. This story too ends eventually.
Author: pythbox	So does the bottle of water! But there are always more cuddles.
Author: her_imperial_radiance	Cuddles are infinitely available.
Author: pythbox	That is good, because Harley wants lots.
Author: her_imperial_radiance	Elspeth does wonder what will happen to a small Joker who is hugged whenever he likes. Perhaps it won't make much long-term difference. But short-term difference suffices.
Author: pythbox	The short-term difference is, he feels all warm and snuggly and nice!
Author: her_imperial_radiance	The warm may be partially from his blooming sunburn.
Author: pythbox	But the snuggly and nice are from Elspeth.
Author: her_imperial_radiance	Yes. She takes full credit. Snuggle.
Author: pythbox	Cuddleflop!
Author: her_imperial_radiance	Pet pet pet.
Author: pythbox	Snuggggggggle. Yes, he is definitely turning pink.
Author: her_imperial_radiance	"You've got some sunburn now," Elspeth informs him.
Author: pythbox	"Warm," he says.
Author: her_imperial_radiance	"Yep."
Author: pythbox	Snuggle snuggle.
Author: her_imperial_radiance	Heh. Pet pet.
Author: pythbox	Cuddle cuddle. ...Wriggle. "Itchy," he announces.
Author: her_imperial_radiance	"Yes, sunburns are itchy, like I said. If you scratch it, it will get worse."
Author: pythbox	"Itchy," he repeats.
Author: her_imperial_radiance	"Yep."
Author: pythbox	Harley wriggles out onto the sand and rubs his whole back against it.
Author: her_imperial_radiance	Elspeth giggles. "I can wish the itch away, if you want."
Author: pythbox	"Nahhhhhh," says Harley.
Author: her_imperial_radiance	"Okay."
Author: pythbox	Wriggle wriggle.
Author: her_imperial_radiance	Elspeth doesn't need to take a picture; she can show people her perfect recollection of Harley's entertaining childhood whenever she likes. She just watches him, smiling slightly.
Author: pythbox	His skin is indeed peeling off in places. "Icky," he giggles.
Author: her_imperial_radiance	"That seems to amuse you."
Author: pythbox	"Yeah!"
Author: her_imperial_radiance	"All right then," she chuckles.
Author: pythbox	Harley giggles and rubs at his sunburnt, sand-covered arms.
Author: her_imperial_radiance	Elspeth reads to herself.
Author: pythbox	Eventually, Harley and his sand and peeling skin all flop onto Elspeth. "Fix it?" he yawns.
Author: her_imperial_radiance	Square. Healthy not-too-pink skin. "There you go. Do you want to develop another one?"
Author: pythbox	"Nah." Cuddle.
Author: her_imperial_radiance	Another protective square, then. Cuddles. Also cuddles.
Author: pythbox	Cuddles!
Author: her_imperial_radiance	"Are you done being at the beach?" Elspeth inquires.
Author: pythbox	He nods sleepily.
Author: her_imperial_radiance	She teleports them and the conjured objects back to her quarters in the current capital, wishes the lingering grains of sand away from Harley's person, and arranges him with his head in her lap on the couch and continues to read.
Author: pythbox	Harley goes to sleep.