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."

but smile as I watch the Grand Sage 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

safest place for me

twinkle with understanding. "Ah, yes. It's always important to step away from new mates. Wolves don't have the

the subject, I nod towards the papers scattered on the table in front of

Looks like some

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

in, genuinely curious. "Like a

weak 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,

11:34

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Would

do you mean by

down his pencil and turns to face me fully. "Not everyone in our camp can utilize or sense magic.

Yes. Obviously that's what that means. "Right. Gnomes can't

gnomes have always been

work with werewolves? I mean, their whole shifting thing is pretty magical,

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 are unrelated. Now, let's get back to the

at his sketches. They're intricate, full of symbols I don't understand and diagrams that make my head spin.

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

device 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.

on."

but I suppose that's why he

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