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It is a lovely Saturday morning. Feathered children are watching cartoons; furred adults are eating brunch; scaled teenagers - one scaled teenager in particular, actually - is arguing with the proprietor of a magic shop.
"How did these items get made if there's no way to learn magic? Are the magicians homeschooling their children and not writing any books? How did you learn?"
"Half this stuff is antiques," says the shopkeep. "Look, asking me a dozen times isn't gonna make the answer more to your liking. I don't have Hogwarts in the basement, deal with it."
"But where do you get the stuff that isn't antique - who made the Avalon itself? - isn't anybody panicking about the medallion supply? -"
"Kid, nobody knows how to make medallions."
"But some people apparently know how to make luck charms and protection amulets!"
"I'm not going to give out my suppliers' personal information. I wouldn't do it even if you weren't annoying."
"There have to be books -"
"Does this look like a library to you?"
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maybeso
maybeso
"Yeah." She gets her gray prints and then goes to fetch a teacup of water.
asteptotheright
Kanimir smiles a little at the teacup; they're in her home, presumably other containers are available and she doesn't have to use that one. But.
He traces the print and incants, while firmly intending Not To Cast The Spell.
He traces the print and incants, while firmly intending Not To Cast The Spell.
maybeso
And May leaves him quite alone, intending that he should cast the spell -
- and the cupful sort of simmers but does not energetically boil.
- and the cupful sort of simmers but does not energetically boil.
maybeso
"Yeah, me either. Maybe you're... not very good at not wanting to boil things...? I wasn't doing it unless I can accidentally do the thing."
asteptotheright
"Well, I think in that case, I'd want to try using them, not try not using them, since if nothing happened it would be extremely ambiguous as to why if I were doing that. So I had best trace another one after anyway."
asteptotheright
Kanimir makes scribbling experimental notes in his notebook. Then he traces another grey sheet. And then--
He really, really does not want it to boil.
He really, really does not want it to boil.
asteptotheright
"I guess it is a matter of the strength of the intentionality. ...For the record, I think it's less that I was having trouble not wanting there to be boiling water and more that I was having trouble not wanting to do magic."
maybeso
"Okay, so either my powers or my excellent nonmagical control over my desires closed the gap."
asteptotheright
"Could be either one. I don't suppose there's any practical way to be trying to not boil the water specifically by not incanting it as opposed to by negating the effect with dragon magic."
maybeso
"Probably not. But you can not-boil-things. Now we shall see if I can make you not-boil-water."
asteptotheright
"Indeed."
Tracing. He's starting to get a little faster at this, that's nice. When he's done he says, "I'm ready when you are."
Tracing. He's starting to get a little faster at this, that's nice. When he's done he says, "I'm ready when you are."
maybeso
"Okay, first I'll try from over here." She sits a bit away from him, not touching him, water, or diagram.
asteptotheright
He incants again. At this rate he'll be able to boil water in his sleep if there are any scrolls carelessly lying around.
maybeso
It boils!
"I wonder which is more likely to work - touching you or the water or the cup or the scroll." She scoots over and puts her head on his shoulder. "I shall try this first."
"I wonder which is more likely to work - touching you or the water or the cup or the scroll." She scoots over and puts her head on his shoulder. "I shall try this first."
maybeso
"I don't have any rats," May points out. "What else do you want to test? Do you want to maybe be invisible for twenty minutes and change?"