Tangled

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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."

the Grand Sage and Elverly bicker. Their dynamic reminds me of an old married couple, though I'd never dare say that

thought it'd be the safest place for

eyes twinkle with understanding. "Ah, yes. It's always important to step away from new mates. Wolves don't have the same deep-seated urges for

the subject, I nod towards

on? Looks like some kind

Grand Sage's face lights up. "Indeed it is. I'm developing a communication device. Something smaller and more portable than

in, genuinely curious.

trying to address that. But I'm working with limited options due to our lack of supplies." We're

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Lisa: Would a

you

Grand Sage sets down his pencil and turns to face me fully. "Not everyone in our camp can utilize or sense magic. We need a device that anyone can use,

means. "Right. Gnomes

gnomes have always been deaf

lean against the table, fascinated. "So, how does that work with werewolves? I mean, their whole shifting thing is pretty

necessarily translate to an ability to manipulate other forms of magic. It's a

leaning in to look at his sketches. They're intricate, full of symbols I don't understand and diagrams that make

a network of energy that can carry messages across distances. Think of it like your human radio waves, but powered by a

itself would be charged with magical energy, but using it wouldn't require any magical ability from the user. It would be like using a flashlight. The electricity makes it work, but you don't

on."

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

beard. "Resources, mainly. We need certain materials to construct the devices, and they're not easy to come by in our current situation. And then there's the matter of testing and refining the design. It's a delicate process. But