"Or maybe there are eight more random bizarre magic things afoot."

"I suppose we can't rule that out. When the one billionth human survives to adulthood, all of the silver in the world will be transfigured into aluminum! We will develop the ability to fly! Anyone who makes it to the moon gets eternal youth!"

"I don't like my hypothesis space having this much nonsense in it!"

"I apologize on behalf of my planet."

"I do not think the magic snake was your planet's fault."

"Apparently you never know!"

...kiss.

Kiss!

Aitim stops planning for trips in his search for the storkmaker. He dotes on his and Shasali's babies.

And also Kalatha too, right? Kalatha is not super comfortable with this no longer being the only child in the world who gets extra special attention all the time.

Of course also Kalatha, who can go around with him on all his adventures if she likes and still needs five hours a day of attention for languages.

"Nobody even knows these languages, Papa."

"Just you and me! And people very far away in the place where everyone's hair is colorful."

"Why don't we live there?"

"It's very crowded and we don't know how to get there and they would be mean to your mama."

"Why would they be mean to Mama?"

"They hurt a lot when they think Mama has touched anything. So they would want her to not touch things, so they wouldn't hurt."

"...why hurt?"

"I'm not sure. It's the way they are."

"Why?"

"Some people think it's because we live so densely that anyone who did not hurt at things that might make them sick got sick all the time and didn't have babies."

Kalatha is not developmentally capable of understanding this explanation and swats his knee in reproach.

Pat pat.

Huff.

Snuggle! Vocabulary words in Tapap!