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Adarin's magic has some advantages over witchcraft, but it is imperfect. Still, over time, mana recovers, and in this time Metis's hospitality does not run out.
They watch Harry Potter, Adarin is introduced to Wikipedia, he makes the second thingamajig. Isabella interrogates her alethiometer.
It's kind of cryptic about whether she has to fear being a "crazy witch". But she's tentatively optimistic and still brainstorming new ways to format the question. (She complains about the alethiometer being bad at numbers and at "yes" and "no".)
It can, however, identify landmarks by referring to whatever they're named after. It's not so hard to interpret on the subject of where she may find a place to claim. She moves into it, Adarin in tow, Metis retained as a friendly advisor but apprenticeship terminated. The place has plumbing and a generator already; she gets satellite Internet for an entire half-day of spellcasting and collects a hand-me-down laptop from a mortal friend of her mother's. She sets up arrangements for building a nice big wall along the edge of a clearing on her appropriated property. It's a very busy couple of weeks.
Eventually she tries asking the alethiometer a fifteenth way whether she's prone to crazy witchitude. Whether she'd ever hurt someone she loved if they rejected her, or even threaten it.
The alethiometer says: love violence counter-to querent nature.
She's starting to get the hang of interpreting it, even if most of the practice has involved getting the addresses (via intersection and cardinal direction because it can't give her anything so useful as house number or latitude) and this is - this is pretty damn good.
This is good enough.
Of course, that's not all the answer she needs, is it?
Path goes looking for Vernaia.
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Path lets out a high happy trill.
(It might be enough to attract the attention of Vernaia's human.)
(It might be enough to attract the attention of Vernaia's human.)
prodigal_miser
Vernaia giggles. Nuzzle. "He heard. He'll pretend not to, though."
Adarin appears to still be reading his book, but there's a faint smile on his face that wasn't there before.
"He's not very good at it."
Adarin appears to still be reading his book, but there's a faint smile on his face that wasn't there before.
"He's not very good at it."
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"Not at all," agrees Path, amused. It's okay. Serious daemon talk can be over. He gives Vernaia another nuzzle, and trills again, and then takes off to report to his witch.
prodigal_miser
Vernaia trills a goodbye, then goes to report to her mortal. The science book is far less interesting, in comparison.
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The day before Adarin is expected to have enough mana to make the interdimensional portal (the Earth end will be hiding in a high corner of one of the walls intended to hold more conventional portals once Isabella has other ends secured; it has already been marked), Path finds Vernaia again, and reminds her:
"You were going to separate before you went home. You'll go home soon."
"You were going to separate before you went home. You'll go home soon."
prodigal_miser
Adarin's testing himself as well as he can for shielding reaction times. There's no magic involved yet, but he's scrounged up a stop watch and is timing how long it takes him to put together a unique twist on a shield. Nothing obvious happens except him starting the timer, thinking for a bit, and then stopping it and checking the time. He'll run this by a list of necessities he likes his shields to have, and if remembered them all in a certain amount of time, he gets a gummy worm. Might as well put the remaining candy from their trip to the theater to good use.
"Yeah," sighs Vernaia, looking sad. "You'll stay with me, won't you?"
"Yeah," sighs Vernaia, looking sad. "You'll stay with me, won't you?"
prodigal_miser
Nuzzle. "Thank you. You're the best. Have you and Isabella decided on a room for me?"
She shivers a little, at the thought.
She shivers a little, at the thought.
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"It depends. Do you want to watch him go? If you don't, there's the basement. If you do, the north bedroom."
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Path hoots acquiescence. "Whichever you like. The basement is fine. Is he going to walk it or does he want Isabella to fly him away?"
prodigal_miser
"He doesn't want anyone there while he goes. If Isabella flew him, he worries that she'll feel bad for putting us through that. He also - he doesn't like people being there when he's hurting. Because he wants to be strong enough to go on despite it."
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Path hoots again. "Witches go on foot. And we watch them go. I sat with Castarilan, Ranata's daemon, and tried not to fling myself against the border of the wasteland where daemons can't go. So he can do it the same way, with the basement door instead."
prodigal_miser
She nods. "Then - I don't think there's ever going to be a time when we're truly ready. But we've meandered around it enough."
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Path puts a wing around her.
"Okay. You can try a few times, if you need to - but it doesn't get easier the second time, so it's better not to."
"Okay. You can try a few times, if you need to - but it doesn't get easier the second time, so it's better not to."
prodigal_miser
Another nod, and snuggling with Path.. "We'll try our best. We really will. I think it will help, you being with me."
Then, she trills to Adarin. He glances up from his gummy worm training - he gives one look at Vern's sadface, and frowns. Gummy worms and the stop watch are put away. He knows exactly what this particular daemon conversation's about. This is going to suck.
Then, she trills to Adarin. He glances up from his gummy worm training - he gives one look at Vern's sadface, and frowns. Gummy worms and the stop watch are put away. He knows exactly what this particular daemon conversation's about. This is going to suck.
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Path fetches Isabella.
She opens the door to the basement and then holds her arms out to hug Adarin before he goes.
She opens the door to the basement and then holds her arms out to hug Adarin before he goes.
prodigal_miser
Vern is picked up and snuggled on her way to the basement. She's gently put down, and given a few soothing pets before Adarin backs off to let her cuddle Path.
When offered, the hug is accepted, and he maybe lingers in it a bit longer than necessary. He is, by no means, looking forward to this. Hugs from Isabella helps, a little, but the only thing that will really fix the obvious problem ahead of him is to just... Walk. So he releases her from the hug and gives her a little sad smile, and carefully closes the basement door.
Then he takes a deep breath, and starts walking.
When offered, the hug is accepted, and he maybe lingers in it a bit longer than necessary. He is, by no means, looking forward to this. Hugs from Isabella helps, a little, but the only thing that will really fix the obvious problem ahead of him is to just... Walk. So he releases her from the hug and gives her a little sad smile, and carefully closes the basement door.
Then he takes a deep breath, and starts walking.
prodigal_miser
Step, step, step. Briefly, Adarin wonders if his and Vernaia's range has changed at all in the past few weeks - they haven't tested it since they did when he'd first gotten here.
Then, he reaches the distance and he knows by the agony. He inhales, sharply, grimacing and closing his eyes. Oh yes, this is going to suck. While he wavers a little in the agonizing steps - the pain's got nothing to do with his legs. Step, step, step.
In Path's snuggly embrace, Vern starts to shiver. "Adarin," she whimpers.
Then, he reaches the distance and he knows by the agony. He inhales, sharply, grimacing and closing his eyes. Oh yes, this is going to suck. While he wavers a little in the agonizing steps - the pain's got nothing to do with his legs. Step, step, step.
In Path's snuggly embrace, Vern starts to shiver. "Adarin," she whimpers.
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Snuggles. Oh, snuggles.
(Isabella closes the door. As hard as this is for the human, the daemons are usually the ones who try to change their minds.)
(Isabella closes the door. As hard as this is for the human, the daemons are usually the ones who try to change their minds.)
prodigal_miser
Step, agony. Step, agony. It's getting worse the further he goes. Like his heart's being ripped from his chest, like he's leaving behind some vital part of him, slowly, by pulling it out an inch at a time. It doesn't just snap, though, it just keeps being pulled.
Step, agony, step, agony - he's stopped paying attention to the direction he's walking and is just focusing on the walking. It's the only thing distracting him from his head.
He briefly wonders if he takes after his mother after all, to be doing this. If he's just gone utterly insane and this is some bizarre new way to torment himself. He's ripping away some vital part of him, walking away from Vernaia - for people he doesn't even like. Not even for a reason like, "We need you and Vern to be in different places to save [x] number of people," but because he and his daemon need to be able to get away from anything trying to kill them at any point in time. Because if he wants to help his home, he has to understand that he's going to be a huge, huge target.
It's not the pain that causes him to waver, it's the self-doubt. His next step isn't well placed, and he goes tumbling to the ground.
Adarin hisses a curseword that he's only heard his sister use.
Vernaia's whimpering continues, getting less and less intelligible, until at last, she starts shrieking that she's changed her mind.
"Nononono, I can't take this, we can't take this - let me go I need my Adarin! Adarin! Come back, please come back, come back come back come back-"
She struggles out from snuggles, and flings herself at the basement door. It doesn't give way, of course.
"Adarin!" she shrieks. But of course, he can't hear her.
Step, agony, step, agony - he's stopped paying attention to the direction he's walking and is just focusing on the walking. It's the only thing distracting him from his head.
He briefly wonders if he takes after his mother after all, to be doing this. If he's just gone utterly insane and this is some bizarre new way to torment himself. He's ripping away some vital part of him, walking away from Vernaia - for people he doesn't even like. Not even for a reason like, "We need you and Vern to be in different places to save [x] number of people," but because he and his daemon need to be able to get away from anything trying to kill them at any point in time. Because if he wants to help his home, he has to understand that he's going to be a huge, huge target.
It's not the pain that causes him to waver, it's the self-doubt. His next step isn't well placed, and he goes tumbling to the ground.
Adarin hisses a curseword that he's only heard his sister use.
Vernaia's whimpering continues, getting less and less intelligible, until at last, she starts shrieking that she's changed her mind.
"Nononono, I can't take this, we can't take this - let me go I need my Adarin! Adarin! Come back, please come back, come back come back come back-"
She struggles out from snuggles, and flings herself at the basement door. It doesn't give way, of course.
"Adarin!" she shrieks. But of course, he can't hear her.
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"It'll be okay," says Path, chasing her to wrap her up in his wings again. "It'll be okay it'll be over and then it'll be okay again and he'll pick you up and hold you and it'll be okay -"
Isabella, for her part, leaves the house in case Adarin has also changed his mind and comes staggering back in the direction of the house and wants an assist.
Isabella, for her part, leaves the house in case Adarin has also changed his mind and comes staggering back in the direction of the house and wants an assist.
prodigal_miser
Now that he's not walking, the heart-ripping feeling plateaus, and he can get accustomed to it long enough to think just how utterly he hates giving up. This is - it's important. Even if it doesn't manage to do any good at all, even if he's being a glutton for punishment, he becomes quite aware that if he turns back now, he'd never respect himself. It's pain, it's torment, like nothing he's ever had before.
But he's had all kinds of new and interesting torment in the past. What's just one more?
Adarin takes a few seconds, on the ground, then he growls a little and clumsily pushes himself to his feet. He doesn't know why, but he laughs, when he makes it back upright. Perhaps he's starting to go mad (or he was already there), but it helps. Just a little, anyway.
He goes back to his walk of suffering. Step, step, step - ha, he's going faster now.
"He's leaving, he's leaving he's leaving he's leaving, Path - Path, Path make it stop, make him come back, I want my Adarin back, I want him back!" whimpers Vernaia, her voice raising from a soft mumble to another set of high-pitched yells.
She manages to not throw herself at the door, again, but she starts sobbing.
But he's had all kinds of new and interesting torment in the past. What's just one more?
Adarin takes a few seconds, on the ground, then he growls a little and clumsily pushes himself to his feet. He doesn't know why, but he laughs, when he makes it back upright. Perhaps he's starting to go mad (or he was already there), but it helps. Just a little, anyway.
He goes back to his walk of suffering. Step, step, step - ha, he's going faster now.
"He's leaving, he's leaving he's leaving he's leaving, Path - Path, Path make it stop, make him come back, I want my Adarin back, I want him back!" whimpers Vernaia, her voice raising from a soft mumble to another set of high-pitched yells.
She manages to not throw herself at the door, again, but she starts sobbing.
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"He'll come back he'll come back it's not forever it's okay," says Path, rapid and low, snuggling her warm and feathery.