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."

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

it'd be the safest place for

Sage's eyes twinkle with understanding. "Ah, yes. It's always important to step away from

I nod towards

on? Looks like some kind of

developing a communication device. Something smaller and more portable than what we

lean in, genuinely curious. "Like

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 a Watch

you mean by

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

means. "Right.

smiles. "We gnomes have always been

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

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 how some humans might have extraordinary physical abilities but no talent for, say, mathematics. They are

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

Sage 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

in the way 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 like using a flashlight. The electricity makes it work, but you don't need to be an

on."

how familiar the gnome is with our human world and its inventions, but I suppose that's why he works on magical technology, trying to blend the two things. "That

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 above all, we would need