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."

can't help 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

for me while Ava and Lucas are... you

step away from new

implication. Desperate to change the subject, I nod towards the papers scattered on the table

are you working on? Looks like

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

I lean in, genuinely curious.

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

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Lisa: Would a Watch

do you mean

turns to face me fully. "Not everyone in our camp can utilize or sense magic. We need a device that anyone

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

gnomes have

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

question," the Grand Sage says, his eyes 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

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

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." "Magic,"

you might think. The device itself would be charged with magical energy, but using it wouldn't require any magical ability from the user. It would be

on."

and its inventions, but I suppose that's why he works on magical technology, trying to blend the two things.

"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