Tangled

Unshift 311

Unshift 311

311 Lisa: Would a Watch Work?

LISA

"You've gotten fat. Elverly greets me, in that traditionally hateful way of hers.

Does the fact that I missed her toxic tongue mark me as abnormal? Probably. But I hug her anyway, smiling when her body doesn't tense, even as she grumbles at me for touching her without permission.

The rest of the night with Kellan was nothing but awkward silence. Being away from him is a blessing right now. I just keep thinking about how he smelled-yeah. No. Not thinking about that. "I'll ask next time. How have you been?"

Elverly's snort could mean anything really, but I choose to interpret it as I've missed you too.

Maybe I'm psychotic. Or delusional. But I'm pretty sure that's what she means.

"Their food is terrible," she mutters. "Not a cook among them."

"They are refugees from war," says the Grand Sage, sounding rather resigned. "It isn't as though they would gather the kitchen before escaping."

"Food is important, the old gnome woman snaps. "Eating well is an important part of recovery."

""Yes, yes."

and Elverly bicker. Their dynamic reminds me of an old married couple, though I'd never dare say that out loud. Elverly might actually bite my head off if I did. "It's good to see you, Lisa," the Grand Sage says, turning to me

the safest place for

twinkle with understanding. "Ah, yes. It's always important to step away from

to change the subject, I nod towards the papers scattered on the table in

are you working on? Looks like some kind

up. "Indeed it is. I'm developing a communication device.

genuinely curious. "Like a

point for us right now, and I'm trying to address that. But I'm working with limited options due to our lack of supplies." We're refugees, after all. It's not

11:34

<

Would

you mean by

everyone in our camp can utilize

that means. "Right. Gnomes can't use

have always been deaf to

how does that work with werewolves? I mean, their

them to shift. But that doesn't necessarily translate to an ability to manipulate other forms of magic. It's a bit like how some humans might have extraordinary physical abilities but

intricate, full of symbols I don't understand and diagrams that make my head spin. "So, how exactly would

his pencil again, tapping it against the paper. "The basic principle is to create a network of energy that can carry messages across distances. Think of it like your human radio waves, but powered by a different kind of energy."

require any magical ability from the user. It would be like using a flashlight. The electricity makes

on."

me how familiar the gnome is with our human world and its inventions, but I suppose that's why he works on magical technology,

materials to construct the devices, and they're not easy to come by in our current