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."

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 if

place for me while Ava

step away from new mates. Wolves

to change the subject, I nod towards the papers scattered on the

on? Looks

developing a

in, genuinely curious. "Like a

due to our lack of supplies." We're refugees, after all. It's not like we have access

11:34

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Lisa: Would

you mean by

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

what that means. "Right. Gnomes

gnomes have always been deaf

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

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.

I don't understand and diagrams

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

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

on."

surprises me 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

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