thaumobabble: (enchanted)
Author: thaumobabble
In some ways, Bella does a lot, very quickly; and in other ways she does almost nothing at all.

She does not have to be secretive - she has no enemies, her world is accustomed to the introduction of strange wonders and will not fall apart with any revelation. She revives a large number of dead people - although none of Marianne's direct ancestors - and sends them home to surprised but happy families. She renders a larger number of people torchable. She sends letters to the monarchs of neighboring realms indicating that she is available to help with any unusual difficulties in which they may find themselves, and that she would appreciate introductions to their farther-flung neighbors. That is the "a lot".

But her world is made of cotton candy, and she has no intention of dumping a bucket of water on it in the hopes of rinsing off small amounts of dust. She is not usurping her mother-in-law, she is not conquering miscellaneous other kingdoms, she is not ridding the world of all its annoying but ultimately not mean pitfalls and hazards. (She does make it a condition of rendering dragons torchable that they must not eat anyone except trespassing Orthodox wizards.) She is mostly staying at home with her wives and her daughters, reading Rose's books, chattering endlessly with Kanim about all the exciting experiments they'll conduct with the new forms of magic available.

When Jane goes down, Bella has to make sheepish announcements that her resurrection powers turned out to be impermanent; she hopes they will return but can offer no timetable.

Meanwhile, news of one specific resurrection (Howard's) has spread far and wide.
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
Some months after Jane goes down, Queen Marianne mentions over tea with her daughters and daughter-in-law,

"The Duchess of Toure-on-Marsh has just sent us a letter saying she has twin children just about the princesses' age, and she was wondering if we would like to introduce them."
thaumobabble: (invocation)
Author: thaumobabble
"That sounds like a fine idea to me," says Bella.
allthebrightest: Smiling, fidgeting. (+= daddy's little rocket scientist)
Author: allthebrightest
"Yeah, sure!" says Tony.
calendarofcrime: Thoughtful or amused. (<= what a novel concept)
Author: calendarofcrime
Sherlock smiles.
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
"All right," says Marianne. "I'll write back."
thaumobabble: (Default)
Author: thaumobabble
After tea, Bella informs the children that they'll be getting visitors soon from Toure-on-Marsh.
carillons: (♃2b. curious)
Author: carillons
"Where's that?" wonders Tanalin.
thaumobabble: (divination)
Author: thaumobabble
"It's a little past Sathem-by-the-Mountains, where Kanim is from. I can show you on a map if you'd like."
carillons: (♃2a. smirkful)
Author: carillons
"Yeah!"
thaumobabble: (charmed)
Author: thaumobabble
Bella conjures up a political map of the continent. The Enchanted forest is geographically enormous - if variable around the edges and not densely populated - and takes up about a third of it; then here are the Mountains of Morning, and here are a lot of little kingdoms including -

"Toure-on-Marsh," says Bella, pointing.
campanas: (thirdborn bellstark 1)
Author: campanas
"It's little!" coos Kiawen.
thaumobabble: (bewitched)
Author: thaumobabble
"It has a bunch of people in it, though," says Bella.
carillons: (♃2c. shyly)
Author: carillons
"Are they teeny tiny people?" giggles Tanalin.
campanas: (thirdborn bellstark 3)
Author: campanas
"Teeny people!" cries Kiawen. "Elves. Smaller! Double-elves, so high!" She holds a hand at her own knee level.
thaumobabble: (divination)
Author: thaumobabble
"Ordinary-sized people," laughs Bella. "They just live close together in cities, instead of all spread out like in the Enchanted Forest."
carillons: (♃2a. smirkful)
Author: carillons
Tanalin giggles some more.
campanas: (firstborn bellstark 3)
Author: campanas
"But what do they do when they want to be alone?"
thaumobabble: (cantrip)
Author: thaumobabble
"They still have their own rooms per person and houses per family," says Bella. "The houses are just right next to each other."
carillons: (♃2d. awaiting)
Author: carillons
"Who's visiting?"
thaumobabble: (enchanted)
Author: thaumobabble
"Duchess Kiria is going to bring her children to meet you. They're twins - regular ones - and about your age."
campanas: (firstborn bellstark 2)
Author: campanas
"Are they nice? I only like nice people," says Carinna.
thaumobabble: (divination)
Author: thaumobabble
"You'll have to decide for yourself if they are nice enough for you," says Bella.
campanas: (thirdborn bellstark 1)
Author: campanas
"I bet they are," says Kiawen optimistically.

Kiawen is so optimistic that she's out in front of the castle, playing with Cricket, when the visitors arrive, instead of waiting for them to knock.
longdistancebells: (① hehehehe.)
Author: longdistancebells
The visitors are a shortish red-haired man with black-rimmed spectacles and his two shortish red-haired children, one wearing a blue dress and the other a green tunic.

"Hello!" the man says cheerfully. "Are you by any chance a princess?"
campanas: (thirdborn bellstark 1)
Author: campanas
"I am!" says Kiawen. "Guess which one, there are six!"
longdistancebells: (② good one!)
Author: longdistancebells
"I guess that you're one of the smaller three!" he says. "Did I get it right? Do I get a prize?"

His daughter giggles.
campanas: (thirdborn bellstark 3)
Author: campanas
Kiawen grins and hugs Cricket for no particular reason; Cricket tolerates this. "Yes but which one?"
longdistancebells: (⑥ errrrr?)
Author: longdistancebells
"That's a hard question!" exclaims the man. "I didn't know there would be hard questions."
campanas: (thirdborn bellstark 1)
Author: campanas
"I'll give you three guesses," suggests Kiawen generously.
longdistancebells: (④ yes?)
Author: longdistancebells
He peers at her, as though suspecting a trick.

"I guess Kiawen!"
campanas: (thirdborn bellstark 3)
Author: campanas
"You didn't even need all three!" says Kiawen, letting go of Cricket to clap for him. Cricket tends to his much-abused fur.
longdistancebells: (③ PBBBBBBBT!)
Author: longdistancebells
"I'm lucky that way," he says. "Hello, Princess Kiawen! I'm Ian, and these terrifying creatures are my son Icarin and my daughter Valeria."

"Boo," says Valeria gleefully, waving her arms.

"I'm not very terrifying, he's just being silly," says Icarin.
campanas: (thirdborn bellstark 3)
Author: campanas
"I'm not even a bit terrified. Hello, it's nice to meet you! Carinna says I should find out if you are nice so she can stay away if you are not nice," says Kiawen. "She only likes nice people."
longdistancebells: (① hehehehe.)
Author: longdistancebells
"I'm very nice," Ian assures her. "My wife tells me so all the time."

"I don't know if I'm nice," Icarin says thoughtfully. "How do you tell?"

Valeria cackles.
campanas: (thirdborn bellstark 2)
Author: campanas
"I'm not sure!" muses Kiawen. "But Carinna said I had to find out. She's very sensitive," she explains. "Cricket, go get Tanalin pretty please and she can help?"

"Mow," says Cricket, and he lopes castleward.
allthebrightest: Smiling, fidgeting. (+= daddy's little rocket scientist)
Author: allthebrightest
It turns out that Tanalin is in the forge with Tony and Howard, watching them argue excitedly about flying armour. Tony is doing most of the talking.
alicornucopia: (Default)
Author: alicornucopia
Cricket cannot make himself understood to anyone in the room, but he can bat expressively at Tanalin's elbow with a paw.
carillons: (♃2d. awaiting)
Author: carillons
"Hi, Cricket!" says Tanalin. "Do you want to show me something?"
alicornucopia: (Default)
Author: alicornucopia
"Mew." He turns and leads her out to the front part of the palace grounds, where are visitors and Carinna.
campanas: (thirdborn bellstark 3)
Author: campanas
"This one is Tanalin!" says Kiawen. "I won't make you guess because you heard me tell Cricket."
carillons: (♃2a. smirkful)
Author: carillons
"Hi!" says Tanalin. "Are you the people from the tiny kingdom?"
longdistancebells: (⑤ exactly like so!)
Author: longdistancebells
"Almost!" says Ian. "We're the people from the tiny duchy. I'm Ian, and this is Icarin and that's Valeria."

"Hi," says Icarin shyly.

"Hi!" says Valeria.
campanas: (thirdborn bellstark 2)
Author: campanas
"Do you think they're nice?" Kiawen asks Tanalin. "I don't know how to tell but Carinna wanted us to make sure."
carillons: (♃2b. curious)
Author: carillons
"I don't know how to tell either!" says Tanalin. "Maybe we should ask a mom."
campanas: (thirdborn bellstark 1)
Author: campanas
"Yeah! Let's ask a mom. Which one, do you think? If there's a magic to learn about niceness I bet Bella knows it but maybe there isn't."
carillons: (♃2d. awaiting)
Author: carillons
"Sherlock is good at finding stuff out!" says Tanalin. "But I don't know where she is, and I don't know where Bella is, and I do know where Tony is, she's in the forge with Grandpa Howard."
campanas: (thirdborn bellstark 2)
Author: campanas
"Is she busy?"
carillons: (♃2b. curious)
Author: carillons
"Maybe. She's not busy busy, she's not making stuff or anything."
campanas: (thirdborn bellstark 3)
Author: campanas
"Okay. I'll go get her and you can stay here because I have been talking to these people who might be nice for longer," says Kiawen, and off she runs to the forge.

Cricket, meanwhile, investigates Valeria.
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
"Hi, kitty!" says Valeria. "Cricket, right?"
alicornucopia: (Default)
Author: alicornucopia
"Mow," agrees Cricket.
campanas: (thirdborn bellstark 2)
Author: campanas
"Tonyyyy," says Kiawen when she gets to the forge.
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
"I wanna pet you," Val declares, reaching for Cricket.
allthebrightest: Failing to look innocent. (+= just tell them we're twins)
Author: allthebrightest
"Hey, you," says Tony. "What's the occasion?"
campanas: (thirdborn bellstark 2)
Author: campanas
"Carinna wanted us to make sure the people from Toure-on-Marsh were nice! But we don't know how to tell! Can you tell?"
alicornucopia: (Default)
Author: alicornucopia
Cricket decides to permit petting.
allthebrightest: Smiling affectionately. (*= okay. yeah. okay.)
Author: allthebrightest
"I don't know!" says Tony. "But I'm not gonna find out just sitting here! Let's go meet the people."
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
Petpetpet!
alicornucopia: (Default)
Author: alicornucopia
Flop. Purr.
campanas: (thirdborn bellstark 1)
Author: campanas
Kiawen leads her out to where the visitors and Tanalin and Cricket are.
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
"You're fluffy!" Val tells Cricket. "I like you. 'Cause you're fluffy."
allthebrightest: Smirking. (*= it's gonna be awesome)
Author: allthebrightest
"Well, she's making friends with Cricket, that's a plus," laughs Tony. "Hi! I'm Tony! You must be Duke Ian. Do you guys wanna come inside?"
longdistancebells: (⑥ errrrr?)
Author: longdistancebells
Ian glances at his son and says, "Yes. Yes we do."
alicornucopia: (Default)
Author: alicornucopia
"Mrow," Cricket agrees.
campanas: (thirdborn bellstark 1)
Author: campanas
"Okay," says Kiawen, and she runs in ahead of everyone to warn Carinna.

The girls are not really used to the brainphone being available yet.
longdistancebells: (② good one!)
Author: longdistancebells
Ian collects his children and follows Tony into the castle.
alicornucopia: (Default)
Author: alicornucopia
Cricket unhelpfully winds around Valeria's legs while she walks. It is a cat obligation.
carillons: (♃2a. smirkful)
Author: carillons
Tanalin tags along, giggling.
campanas: (thirdborn bellstark 2)
Author: campanas
Now they are inside the castle!

Kiawen peers at Valeria and Icarin, trying to see if they are nice or not.
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
Valeria is doing her best not to step on Cricket. Icarin is doing his best to be visible to as few people as possible, which amounts to imitating Cricket with his father as the target instead of Valeria.
campanas: (thirdborn bellstark 3)
Author: campanas
"Are you okay?" says Kiawen to Icarin. "We're nice. You can tell because Carinna will talk to us!"
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
"I've never met Carinna," says Icarin, peeking out from behind his father. "And there are a lot of you. Two small princesses and one big princess and a cat! I didn't know there was going to be a cat."
campanas: (thirdborn bellstark 1)
Author: campanas
"He's Bella's cat," explains Kiawen. "He's soft!"
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
"He is!" says Valeria.

"He's unexpected," says Icarin.
campanas: (thirdborn bellstark 2)
Author: campanas
"Do you not like surprises?" asks Kiawen. "Even soft cat surprises?"
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
"Well - they're surprising," says Icarin. "So I don't know what to think about them."
campanas: (thirdborn bellstark 2)
Author: campanas
"Sometimes Carinna doesn't like surprises either. Like if you hide and then jump out she hates that."
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
"That is unpleasant," Icarin agrees.
campanas: (thirdborn bellstark 1)
Author: campanas
"I don't mind it! That's why I can test people for her even though I'm not very good at it."
alicornucopia: (Default)
Author: alicornucopia
Cricket, having deemed Valeria an acceptable source of petting, solicits additions to the extant amount of petting that has gone on.
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
"Maybe I should go and talk to Carinna and Val should stay and talk to you," says Icarin. "I am much less surprising than she is."

Val pets Cricket. "Fluffy," she observes.
alicornucopia: (Default)
Author: alicornucopia
Cricket is exceedingly fluffy.
campanas: (thirdborn bellstark 2)
Author: campanas
"Maybe!" says Kiawen. "I dunno. Tony, do you think he's nice enough for Carinna or will she cry?"
allthebrightest: Smiling, fidgeting. (+= daddy's little rocket scientist)
Author: allthebrightest
"I think he's probably nice enough," Tony decides.
campanas: (thirdborn bellstark 1)
Author: campanas
"Okay," says Kiawen, "come on then, I'll show you where she is."
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
Off he goes!
campanas: (firstborn bellstark 3)
Author: campanas
Carinna is up in her room with a book.

She peers at Icarin warily when Kiawen introduces him, but says, "I'm Carinna," in a perfectly polite tone.
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
"Hi," sas Icarin nervously.
campanas: (thirdborn bellstark 1)
Author: campanas
"Tony thinks he is nice but if he's not you can shoo him," Kiawen assures her sister, and then the youngest princess skips off.
campanas: (firstborn bellstark 3)
Author: campanas
"So, um," says Carinna, "what do you like doing?"
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
"...Reading," says Icarin. "And building stuff."
campanas: (firstborn bellstark 1)
Author: campanas
"I like reading too. I'm not sure if it's a visitors thing, though," says Carinna thoughtfully. "You have red hair. Are you a fire-witch?"
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
"Yeah! So's my sister and both my parents," he says. "But not all my grandparents."
campanas: (firstborn bellstark 3)
Author: campanas
"My grandma is a fire witch but kind of thinned out, and Sherlock and Tony only a little bit and they don't have the hair, and me and my sisters can touch hot stuff but that's all. I like hot glass. It feels neat."
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
"I've never held hot glass," says Icarin. "What's it like?"
campanas: (firstborn bellstark 1)
Author: campanas
"It's kind of gooey," says Carinna. "I am not supposed to get it under my nails because it would be hard to get out if it cooled there."
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
"Yeah, I guess it would," he agrees. "Like mud but way worse."
campanas: (firstborn bellstark 3)
Author: campanas
"Yeah. One time I did get some under one of my nails and it was stuck, and this was before Bella got extra-fancy-magic, so I just had to hold my hand in the fire until it got soft again and then get it out like that."
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
Icarin winces. "I bet that wasn't fun. I hate when I get stuff stuck to me."
campanas: (firstborn bellstark 3)
Author: campanas
"It didn't hurt," says Carinna consideringly. "But it was annoying. I had to hold my book with just one hand while it was warming up."
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
"It wasn't icky or anything?"
campanas: (firstborn bellstark 2)
Author: campanas
"No. Kind of itchy, when it was all cooled off and hard."
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
"Weird," he says. "I wonder what that's like, but I don't think I wonder enough to try it."
campanas: (firstborn bellstark 3)
Author: campanas
"Yeah, I don't think you should," agrees Carinna. "I get my nails cut before I'm going to make glass things that way, now."
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
"That is sensible!" says Icarin, smiling a little.
campanas: (firstborn bellstark 1)
Author: campanas
"'Wen and 'Lin mostly do things with metal, not glass. Bella is the mom who does glass. She likes it for magicking."
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
"You have a lot of moms," Icarin observes. "Most people I know only have one."
campanas: (firstborn bellstark 1)
Author: campanas
"We're lucky like that," says Carinna. "Bella said when I asked that technically I'm hers and Sherlock's and technically 'Wen and 'Lin are hers and Tony's, but it doesn't matter, we're all all of theirs and they are moms together."
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
"How come you're the only kids with three moms?" he wonders.
campanas: (firstborn bellstark 3)
Author: campanas
"Bella did magic to make us," says Carinna. "And Sherlock and Tony are identical twins and they both wanted to marry her. So they did! And now they are all moms together."
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
"That is cute," Icarin announces.
campanas: (firstborn bellstark 1)
Author: campanas
Carinna giggles. "If I hadn't come along then Tony couldn't have married Bella. Since there had to be heirs, since Grandma wasn't immortal then."
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
"Your grandma's immortal?" says Icarin.
campanas: (firstborn bellstark 3)
Author: campanas
"Yeah. And Grandpa and all my moms and me and my sisters and Cricket and Kanim and some other people, too. That's some of the extra fancy magic Bella got. She can immortal people."
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
"She should immortal my parents!" asserts Icarin.
campanas: (firstborn bellstark 1)
Author: campanas
"They should ask her, then, she probably will," says Carinna.
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
"I should go find my dad and tell him to! Otherwise he might not think of it," says Icarin.
campanas: (firstborn bellstark 3)
Author: campanas
"Oh. Okay. Do you want me to come with?" asks Carinna.
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
"Yeah," he says. "Otherwise I might get lost. I don't know your castle very well yet."
campanas: (firstborn bellstark 3)
Author: campanas
"Some of the doors open to more than one place, because magic," says Carinna, hopping to her feet and leading him down to where she expects guests to be lingering.

She pauses at the doorway, peeping out at the strangers.
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
Icarin locates his father, marches up to him, and says, "You should ask Princess Bella to immortal you!"
longdistancebells: (④ yes?)
Author: longdistancebells
"All right," Ian says agreeably. "Where is Princess Bella?"
campanas: (thirdborn bellstark 1)
Author: campanas
"Probably in one of the stacked rooms," says Kiawen. "The library or her workshop or something."
longdistancebells: (② good one!)
Author: longdistancebells
"And how would I go about finding her?"
campanas: (firstborn bellstark 3)
Author: campanas
"There is the brainphone!" says Carinna. "Then she can just come here. I almost forgot it." And she closes her eyes and tilts her head and summons Bella.
thaumobabble: (divination)
Author: thaumobabble
Pop. "What is it?" Bella inquires. "Oh! You're here! I didn't realize. Hello, it's nice to meet you, I'm Bella."
longdistancebells: (① hehehehe.)
Author: longdistancebells
"Hello, Bella! I'm Ian!" says Ian. "And this is Icarin and that's Valeria and I've just been told," he ruffles his son's hair, "that I should ask you to immortal me."
thaumobabble: (cantrip)
Author: thaumobabble
"Oh!" laughs Bella. "Let's see - is there any reason you or I might regret that? It's very permanent."
longdistancebells: (② good one!)
Author: longdistancebells
"Well, I don't know, is there? How does it work?"
thaumobabble: (counterspell)
Author: thaumobabble
"Once I've done it, if you would die for some reason, instead you reset on the spot," says Bella. "It also tends to pull appearances towards mid-twenties - for humans - but it's compatible with normal growing for people younger than that." She scritches Carinna's head.
longdistancebells: (④ yes?)
Author: longdistancebells
"Well, if it works for you and your family, I don't see any reason not to want it for me and mine," he shrugs.
thaumobabble: (enchanted)
Author: thaumobabble
"That's fair. Will you want me to visit the Duchess and cover her as well?"
longdistancebells: (⑤ exactly like so!)
Author: longdistancebells
"That would be very nice of you!"
thaumobabble: (Default)
Author: thaumobabble
"Okay then." She peers at Valeria and Icarin. "D'you two want to live forever?"
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
"Yes please!" says Icarin.

"Sure!" says Valeria.
thaumobabble: (cantrip)
Author: thaumobabble
Bella makes three illustrative gestures. "Done, done, and done. Will Duchess Kiria be alarmed if I just teleport directly to her?"
longdistancebells: (⑥ errrrr?)
Author: longdistancebells
"You know, I'm really not sure," says Ian. "You could bring me along, I'm sure she'd find that much less alarming."
thaumobabble: (enchanted)
Author: thaumobabble
"Okay then."

Pop!
longdistancebells: (❤)
Author: longdistancebells
The duchess is a woman of about her husband's height, with long curly red hair where his is short and straight. She is currently sitting behind a large oak desk in a comfortable little office, reading reports.

"Surprise, darling!" says Ian.

"Ian!" beams Kiria. "And who's this?"
thaumobabble: (invocation)
Author: thaumobabble
"Princess Bella, of the Enchanted Forest," Bella says. "Pleased to meet you, Duchess Kiria."
longdistancebells: (Default)
Author: longdistancebells
Duchess Kiria gets out from behind her desk, kisses her husband, and turns warmly to Bella.

"Delighted," she says. "What's the occasion? The kids are fine, aren't they?"
thaumobabble: (enchanted)
Author: thaumobabble
"Of course. I've just made them and your husband immortal and dropped by to ask if you'd like me to cover you as well."
longdistancebells: (Default)
Author: longdistancebells
"Goodness," blinks Kiria. "I don't see why not, I suppose."
thaumobabble: (Default)
Author: thaumobabble
Bella explains how torching works, and awaits confirmation.
longdistancebells: (Default)
Author: longdistancebells
"Well, all right, then!" says Kiria.
thaumobabble: (invocation)
Author: thaumobabble
Bella gestures at her. "There you are."
longdistancebells: (Default)
Author: longdistancebells
"Thank you!" says Kiria. "Do you want a cup of tea or anything before you go?"
thaumobabble: (cantrip)
Author: thaumobabble
"I'm fine, thank you. Ian, would you rather come back to the Enchanted Forest, or should I just fetch your little ones home when they get bored?"
longdistancebells: (④ yes?)
Author: longdistancebells
"Well, if you don't mind, then I don't mind either," shrugs Ian.
thaumobabble: (invocation)
Author: thaumobabble
"It's no trouble," Bella assures him.
longdistancebells: (② good one!)
Author: longdistancebells
"Oh good."
thaumobabble: (illusion)
Author: thaumobabble
"I'll see you then. And here -" She adds them both to the brainphone network. [If you want them home before that or want to check in, you can do this.]
longdistancebells: (① hehehehe.)
Author: longdistancebells
[Ooh!] says Ian. [Nifty.]
thaumobabble: (invocation)
Author: thaumobabble
[Isn't it just? See you later.]

And home she pops. "Icarin, Valeria, I'll be teleporting you home whenever you're ready to go," she tells them.
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
"You are spectacularly magic!" says Icarin.
thaumobabble: (illusion)
Author: thaumobabble
"I made some very magical friends, and they shared," she says, smiling. "And I was a magician even before that."
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
"Sharing is nice!" says Icarin. "What sorts of things did they share?"
thaumobabble: (enchanted)
Author: thaumobabble
"The immortality power, for one thing, and some other stuff I can do like teleporting and the brainphone," says Bella.
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
"What's the brainphone?"
thaumobabble: (invocation)
Author: thaumobabble
[It's this,] says Bella. [That's how Carinna told me I should come here to immortalize you and your dad.]
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
[Nifty!] says Icarin. [How's it work?]
thaumobabble: (divination)
Author: thaumobabble
[It's a kind of magic that this world didn't use to have until my friends brought it here. It works by wishing, but not like the kind of wishes a genie gives.]
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
[What kind of wishing is it instead? And where are your friends from if they're not from the world?]
thaumobabble: (Default)
Author: thaumobabble
[They're from another world. The wishes work entirely by magic with no person involved except the wisher.]
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
"There's more worlds?" says Icarin. "How many? How do you get there from here?"
thaumobabble: (invocation)
Author: thaumobabble
"A lot. I don't know how many, but at least eighty-eight." (Chronicle was eighty-fifth in Downside numbering, Alethia and Syntropy lack Downside numbers, and some Bells were on their way to check out a new one when Jane broke.) "There are usually two ways to get from one to another, but one of them is broken right now. The other way is to wait for a door to turn into a door to a bar called Milliways, that can touch all of those worlds. I met my friends when Kiawen found a door like that."
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
"Woooow," says Icarin. "That's amazing!"
campanas: (thirdborn bellstark 3)
Author: campanas
"The friends are like people here but not!" says Kiawen. "I went and I found a Sherlock who wasn't Sherlock and she didn't even know who I was because her and her Bella and Tony don't have any kids. And her Tony is a boy! And there are more of all of them and there's so many Bellas and Sherlocks and Tonies and other people too."
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
"...Are there any of me?" wonders Icarin.
thaumobabble: (spellbound)
Author: thaumobabble
"I didn't meet any," says Bella. "But sometimes I can tell anyway..." She crouches down to his eye level, and lets her aura out (attention-super-extra-magical-magician!), and squints. "I think there might be more of you. And of your sister too; you look pretty attached, I don't think you'd find an Icarin without a Valeria... Although there might be alts of Valeria who don't quite have Icarins, I'm not sure, I would need to look at more of you."
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
"You are really super extra magic!" says Icarin, staring back at her with wide eyes.
thaumobabble: (divination)
Author: thaumobabble
Bella laughs and puts her aura away. "Yes."
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
"I want to be that magic," Icarin declares.
thaumobabble: (Default)
Author: thaumobabble
"Maybe you should start with regular magic from this world," suggests Bella gently.
campanas: (thirdborn bellstark 1)
Author: campanas
"Sometimes Bella or Kanim gives us magic lessons!" says Kiawen.
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
"I'm already going to be all the magic from this world," says Icarin.
thaumobabble: (charmed)
Author: thaumobabble
"Oh, you want to be a magician? Good for you."
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
"I'm going to learn all the magic," Icarin asserts.
thaumobabble: (cantrip)
Author: thaumobabble
"Excellent. I have to be a little careful with giving out some of the kinds. I don't have infinite amounts of all of it. I can immortalize as many people as I like, put as many people on the brainphone as I want, teleport as often as I please - I can't give out the first power by myself at all, though, and the others are expensive. So I don't think you will be taking any of the fancy offworld magic home with you today, but maybe another time."
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
"As long as I get it eventually," he says magnanimously.
thaumobabble: (divination)
Author: thaumobabble
"You're immortal now."
campanas: (thirdborn bellstark 1)
Author: campanas
"We get to live forever and try everything that is fun to try!" beams Kiawen.
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
Icarin shrugs.
thaumobabble: (illusion)
Author: thaumobabble
"I'll leave you kids to play. You can brainphone me if you need anything," says Bella, and away she pops.
campanas: (firstborn bellstark 3)
Author: campanas
"Do you like magic too?" Carinna asks Valeria tentatively.
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
Valeria shrugs.

"I fell in a magic spring once!" she says. "Now I can do a glowy thing."
campanas: (thirdborn bellstark 3)
Author: campanas
"What kind of glowy thing?" asks Kiawen.
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
"A glowy kind!"
campanas: (thirdborn bellstark 2)
Author: campanas
"Yeah but what does it do? Do you glow? Do you make other stuff glow?"
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
"I make stuff that glows," she says. "Kind of. I don't know. Ike, explain the glowy thing."

"She can make glowy shapes that stick to her," says Icarin. "If they come unstuck they disappear, but otherwise she can make whatever shape she wants. It's neat! But she's not supposed to do it in front of people who don't know about it, in case they get scared."
campanas: (thirdborn bellstark 1)
Author: campanas
"Now we all know about it," points out Kiawen.
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
"Do you wanna see?" says Valeria.
campanas: (thirdborn bellstark 3)
Author: campanas
"Yeah!"
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
Valeria shrugs and holds out her hands. Glowy soft-looking white stuff wells out of her palms, then merges together into a big puffy ball.
campanas: (thirdborn bellstark 2)
Author: campanas
"Can I touch it?" asks Kiawen.
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
"Sure!"
campanas: (thirdborn bellstark 3)
Author: campanas
Kiawen pokes the puffy ball.
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
It is soft and squishable like a pillow, but with a smoother surface.
campanas: (thirdborn bellstark 1)
Author: campanas
"It's nice! If I could do it I would have it for blankets and pillows and stuff," says Kiawen. "'Lin, Carinna, you should try it!"
carillons: (♃2a. smirkful)
Author: carillons
Tanalin pokes the puffy ball!

"Ooh, squashy."
campanas: (firstborn bellstark 1)
Author: campanas
Carinna also pokes the puffy ball.

"It's nice," she agrees.
carillons: (♃2b. curious)
Author: carillons
"I wanna hug it," says Tanalin.
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
Valeria giggles, and makes the puffy ball big enough to hug. It flops squashily onto the ground.
campanas: (firstborn bellstark 1)
Author: campanas
Small princesses hug the ball!
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
The ball extends squashy arms and hugs them back.
campanas: (thirdborn bellstark 1)
Author: campanas
Kiawen is charmed!
campanas: (firstborn bellstark 2)
Author: campanas
Carinna is alarmed!
carillons: (♃2a. smirkful)
Author: carillons
Tanalin giggles!
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
Val, who still has both hands pressed to the back of the ball, slurps the arm hugging Carinna back into it.
campanas: (firstborn bellstark 3)
Author: campanas
Carinna declines to hug the ball further regardless, but at least she doesn't cry or run from the room.
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
The ball unslurps its arm after she has gone away, and resumes hugging the other two princesses. Valeria grins at it.
campanas: (thirdborn bellstark 1)
Author: campanas
"What other stuff do you do with it?" asks Kiawen.
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
"I dunno! Whatever I want," she shrugs.
campanas: (thirdborn bellstark 2)
Author: campanas
"What would happen if you tried to eat it?" wonders Kiawen.
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
"I dunno!" she says. "I don't really want to, it doesn't taste like anything."
campanas: (thirdborn bellstark 3)
Author: campanas
"Okay," giggles Kiawen. "Hey, I'm hungry, who's hungry?"
campanas: (firstborn bellstark 3)
Author: campanas
"I kind of am."
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
"I'm hungry!" says Val.

"I might be hungry," says Icarin.
carillons: (♃2b. curious)
Author: carillons
"I'm a little hungry," says Tanalin.
campanas: (thirdborn bellstark 3)
Author: campanas
"I think we add up to enough hungry to find Sherlock and ask her to make something!" declares Kiawen. "I wonder where she - oh! I can brainphone her instead of looking through the whole castle." [Sherloooock!]
calendarofcrime: Grinning, amused. (!= not inclined to argue)
Author: calendarofcrime
[Yeeeees?]
campanas: (thirdborn bellstark 1)
Author: campanas
[We're hungry! Can you make food for us?]
calendarofcrime: Thoughtful. (<= what is my name?)
Author: calendarofcrime
[Of course.]
campanas: (thirdborn bellstark 1)
Author: campanas
[Yay! I love you.]

"Sherlock's gonna make us food," Kiawen announces, and she traipses off kitchenward.
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
Sundry persons follow.
campanas: (firstborn bellstark 3)
Author: campanas
Beads and their guests lurk outside the kitchen.
calendarofcrime: Thoughtful or amused. (<= what a novel concept)
Author: calendarofcrime
Soon there is food!
carillons: (♃2d. awaiting)
Author: carillons
It is nummy.
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
The nummiest!
campanas: (thirdborn bellstark 1)
Author: campanas
Om nom nom. "Thank you Sherlock!" says Kiawen winningly.
calendarofcrime: Grinning, amused. (!= not inclined to argue)
Author: calendarofcrime
"You are welcome."