cheated

[mute_pen]

The castle is livable indefinitely. Etty flies over the space around it, but she's not as fast as the Baron was in his owl form, and she can't fly for very long if she's hungry and can pack nothing if she travels as a swan; she doesn't range farther than she can travel in a half-day, and she doesn't find Astgabels or anyone who knows where it is. (Not many people are willing to talk to a girl in a feather dress from out of nowhere, but a few are.) She flies home to Nona after each failed journey. They feast on what appears on the dining table. They snuggle. They pick through the library. Etty writes her thoughts. They sleep, curled up together in Nona's bed.

One morning they wake up together and are lying there in comfortable silence when Etty scoots up and kisses Nona.

Comments

[growcrooked]

"Okay," says Nona.

[subtly_artistic]

"Is it not a bad idea where you come from?" Bella asks Etty tentatively.

[mute_pen]

"There are churches, and people talk about God - only the one - smiting people, sometimes, but I don't think he exists, because people say he's all-powerful and all-knowing and all-good," shrugs Etty. "I don't think there's anything other than other people to punish hubris. But if it's so dangerous where you're from maybe I shouldn't invite you back with us to help me do things with your magic. In case hubris being a bad idea follows you there."

[growcrooked]

"I don't want any more gods than the one we probably haven't got," Nona confirms. "It seems like they'd just get in the way."

[subtly_artistic]

"Well -" Bella's speaking very carefully now. "They are the source of divine magic. Celo can heal because of his mother, even if she isn't attentively intervening each time. And no drinking blood is necessary."

[mute_pen]

"That seems helpful of them," says Etty.

[growcrooked]

"I still don't want any," says Nona.

[subtly_artistic]

"Apart from punishing hubris they're generally a positive or neutral force in the world, I think," Bella says. "And they aren't all-powerful or all-knowing - and only a couple of them claim good, let alone all-good."

[mute_pen]

"And they definitely exist."

[subtly_artistic]

"At least some of them are blindingly obvious. There are some more controversial ones."

[growcrooked]

"Do you want to talk about something else?" wonders Nona.

[subtly_artistic]

"It might be more comfortable, yeah."

[mute_pen]

"Tell us more about your world's magic."

[subtly_artistic]

And lo, the conversation did become a thaumatology lecture.

[growcrooked]

Nona is fascinated!

[mute_pen]

Etty is more fascinated!

[subtly_artistic]

Bella is not actually equipped to teach Thaumo 101 but she will do her best!

[pythbox]

Even I didn't know some of this stuff, Celo comments.

[subtly_artistic]

I read a lot.

[pythbox]

You're kind of awesome.

[subtly_artistic]

I kind of am!

Bella intersperses Celo's remarks to her audience.

[mute_pen]

Etty giggles.

[growcrooked]

Nona giggles, too.

[subtly_artistic]

Thaumatology.

Eventually Bella exhausts her knowledge of the subject in general, but she can go on with lots of practical examples of how magic is used in her world. This eventually segues into an overview of the sentient species - humans are determined to be about the same between worlds after a quick consultation, but then there's nymphs.

"Celo's actually the only male nymph in the world, or at least the only one I ever heard of; usually they're female. They exist in the wild, but some of them are sort of domesticated, because their associated fields - or in Celo's case a garden - can be cultivated to better yields with work most people find less objectionable. So to speak."

[growcrooked]

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Nona says after a few puzzled seconds.