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."

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

place for

step away from new mates. Wolves don't have the same deep-seated urges for

change the subject, I nod towards the

you working on? Looks like some kind of

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

in, genuinely curious. "Like

limited options due to our lack of supplies." We're refugees, after all. It's not like we have access to the latest tech or endless resources. "Plus," he continues, "it needs to be independent of

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Lisa: Would

do you mean by

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

that means. "Right. Gnomes can't use magic.

"We gnomes have always been deaf to

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

lighting up. "Werewolves do indeed have a form of innate magic that allows 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 no talent for, say, mathematics. They

sketches. They're intricate, full of symbols I don't understand and diagrams that

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

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

on."

inventions, but I suppose that's why he works on magical technology,

by in our current situation. And then there's the