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 if I did. "It's good to see you, Lisa," the Grand

the safest place for me while Ava and Lucas are... you

step away from new mates. Wolves don't have the same deep-seated urges for

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

working on? Looks like some kind of

Sage's face lights up. "Indeed it is. I'm developing a communication device. Something smaller

genuinely curious. "Like a

working with limited options due to our lack of supplies." We're refugees, after all. It's

11:34

<

Would

do you mean by

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

means. "Right. Gnomes can't use magic. Or wolf

smiles. "We gnomes have always

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

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.

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

up his pencil again, tapping it against the paper. "The basic principle is to create a network of energy that can carry messages across

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.

on."

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

easy to come by in our current situation. And then there's the matter of testing and refining