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."

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

the safest place for me while Ava and

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

at the implication. Desperate to change the subject, I nod towards the papers scattered on the table in front of

working on? Looks like some kind

it is. I'm developing a

in, genuinely curious.

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 like we have access to

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Lisa: Would a Watch

you

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

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

smiles. "We gnomes have

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

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

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

picks up 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

with magical energy, but using it wouldn't require any magical ability from the user.

on."

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

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