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Cam studies. He studies madly. The next week elapses with him having very little sense of individual days. He doesn't want anyone to know anything special is up, so he goes to a movie with Renée and to a friend's house after school to play Nintendo games and Charlie gets his weekly phone call and he shows up to his classes and gets his homework adequately done. But other than that he studies. He wants to be fluent in this thing inside three months if possible. It's easier than Spanish, he's motivated, he can use it in everyday conversations as he asks passing animals and convenient plants how smart they are (dogs: smarter than goats; squirrels: about goat level; his friend's hamster: dumb as a rock; shrubs: way dumber than trees; indoor potted rosemary: just a step above grass) and chats with Grace, he's basically dropping himself in an immersion course with some inconvenient English here and there so he can interact with humans. He thinks three months is ambitious but reasonable.
He's not actually doing that many spells. He does wheedle tofu into tastiness on a nightly basis, and when he feels a cold coming on he looks up a spell about that, but he wants to know what he's doing before he gets going on what he most wants to be doing, because he wants to be doing big things. He swore to oppose death. He meant that.
Today he is preparing to oppose death in his backyard. It's threatening rain and he doesn't want to be all the way down the street with Leafy if the clouds open up. The jerk tree doesn't talk to him if he doesn't talk to it and it's perfectly serviceable as something to sit under, anyway.
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lifes_sake
"Oh, would you?" he says, wistful.
There is a subtle effect, like someone briefly dials down the brightness of the sun when Cam's hand touches the rock.
lifes_sake
"...Do you have magic properties that activate when people touch you?" Cam asks Iggy slowly.
"You're asking me?"
lifes_sake
"You're the one who may or may not have those properties," Cam says, holding Iggy at arm's length with one finger and a thumb. "Did your wizard cast something on you, or something?"
"No, he just talked to me a lot," he says, aggrieved.
lifes_sake
"Something weird happened when I picked you up. Hey, tree, do you know what's going on by any chance?" Cam asks the tree. "Manual, Grace?"
"I don't know," Grace says.
"I don't know," Grace says.
The tree ignores him.
Actually... the tree seems to have stopped moving.
So does everything else.
It's slow and subtle, but it's like Cam and objects on his person are now the only things in the world with life and movement.
Actually... the tree seems to have stopped moving.
So does everything else.
It's slow and subtle, but it's like Cam and objects on his person are now the only things in the world with life and movement.
The effect remains.
"If you can't beat 'em," says Iggy's not-voice, "join 'em."
"If you can't beat 'em," says Iggy's not-voice, "join 'em."
"I mean," says the same voice - or is it the same? - "how would you like to be immortal?"
lifes_sake
"...That sounds very nice. You know what also sounds nice, knowing what's going on, that would be nice."
"A smart guy like you, I bet you can guess," says maybe-Iggy.
lifes_sake
"I'm developing a hunch, except then you asked me how I'd like to be immortal, and I don't see how that fits."
"Don't you?" it asks. "Kiddo, who else do you think can give it to you?"
lifes_sake
"Well, yes, but, confused on motivations. Why would you like me to be immortal, given what I pretty much intend to do with any amount of life I happen to have?"
"We-ell, there's the catch," it says mock-regretfully. "You'll have to tone that down a little."
lifes_sake
"...I'm listening," says Cam.
Toning it down a little over a longer time could still net positive.
Toning it down a little over a longer time could still net positive.
"And you'll owe me some favours, of course. Nothing that goes too far against your better judgment."
lifes_sake
"I don't think I'm going to do any things that go against my better judgment, since that's what better judgment means."
"Are you sure?"
lifes_sake
"Of what I just said, yes, quite, of what currently constitutes my better judgment, not yet, feel free to address the members of the jury."
"Heh," says probably-not-Iggy. "We'll just have to see, won't we?"