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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
"I'm going to find the smallest set of runes which between them cover every meaning there is and get myself a flashlight wand, if those work, with one of each."
maybeso
"...Probably!" May gets to her feet, leaving Kanimir invisible where he was, and goes to get these things.
asteptotheright
He amuses himself while she's gone by plucking at the coverlet and seeing it move for apparently no reason.
maybeso
May comes back with the objects. "Do you think you can draw a whole spell this small," she says, "or am I going to do my thing to like three runes? My handwriting's good, but writing on cling wrap in marker it's not that good."
asteptotheright
"Depends on how fine-tipped the marker is and whether you have enough paperweights to hold it flat."
maybeso
"It's a fine sharpie..." She hands him the sharpie and gets books to flatten the plastic wrap with.
asteptotheright
"I can try, but I'm not sure I'll succeed. If I fail the first time I can try again but if I fail enough times in a row I might just declare it unworkable for the moment." And he begins trying! He goes much, much slower than normal.
asteptotheright
After about five minutes he says, "...Could you stop suppressing for a moment? I want to hold this a little more precisely and also see what I've already written."
asteptotheright
After about another ten minutes of careful scribbling he says, "...I think I've got it."
maybeso
"Looks okay. I'll test it just to make sure it doesn't hurt us; if it does anything we know the flashlight thing works and we can use stiffer plastic for future models."
She turns the flashlight on behind the plastic wrap, makes sure nothing is stretched, and presses the face of the light directly against the floor so it's not distorted. She incants to boil the teacup.
She turns the flashlight on behind the plastic wrap, makes sure nothing is stretched, and presses the face of the light directly against the floor so it's not distorted. She incants to boil the teacup.
asteptotheright
The teacup boils.
"It works," Kanimir breathes. "And also I'm feeling very self-congratulatory on my ability to inscribe that small, but it works."
"It works," Kanimir breathes. "And also I'm feeling very self-congratulatory on my ability to inscribe that small, but it works."
maybeso
She kisses him. "I'm very impressed. We should get some bits of glass or plastic yea big," she taps the flashlight face, "to write on for permanent light diagrams."
asteptotheright
"Yes. ...Assuming that was the actual projection you were incanting from and not just the plastic, that just occurred to me."
maybeso
"Oh, better check."
She boils another teacup.
"...It was either the projection both times or just one of them, but that means projections work either way."
She boils another teacup.
"...It was either the projection both times or just one of them, but that means projections work either way."
maybeso
"And - and - since the projection counts as novel human intervention! - we can machine produce the glass parts!"