we have a complex relationship with our sisters and our cousins

[dark_light]

Amariah is starting a circle in her yard - minting and enchanting can pull heavier duty than witchcraft, and faster, too, but they won't scale unless she wants to hand out copies of her trump cards; novel spells will, since there are many witches across the globe.

And then Jane asks if she wants to be visited, by Juliet's Sherlock - Minus - and Amariah's reply is "Sure, I could take a break." Because she's been at this for a while now and was just about to wish a crick out of her back for the second time this afternoon.

She puts down her pitcher of oil and waits for him to appear.

Comments

[dark_light]

"If you do want to visit a city we could probably come up with some kind of magical illusion that will fool most people."

[eversomuchfun]

"If I do want to visit a city, I'll think about it," he says.

[dark_light]

Amariah nods. "I mention it mostly because Kas gets stir-crazy out here in the middle of nowhere, he's always teleporting to this or that metropolis. I don't know if you're prone to that sort of thing."

[eversomuchfun]

"Not habitually. But thank you."

[dark_light]

"You're welcome."

[eversomuchfun]

He smiles and hugs her.

[dark_light]

Hug! Amariah sets down her pitcher to return it. She's between runes.

[eversomuchfun]

Hug hug.

[dark_light]

Path is sitting on a windowsill, over there, and he shuffles his feet a little. If Sherlock had a daemon he'd be talking to her (or him); this is a poor substitute.

[eversomuchfun]

"Yes?" says Sherlock.

[dark_light]

"If you had a daemon I'd be talking to her," Path says. "About how to help you."

[eversomuchfun]

"As opposed to talking to me?"

[dark_light]

"Daemons are better at that."

[eversomuchfun]

"Really."

[dark_light]

"It's true," Amariah agrees. "Well, at least compared to the people who have daemons. I'm not sure about compared to people with - interior souls."

[eversomuchfun]

"Then perhaps you could try talking to me."

[dark_light]

"All you said was hugs," says Amariah. "That could in fact be the only thing we can do, but we'd be more confident of that if you had a daemon and she said it."

[eversomuchfun]

"Hugs may not be the only thing that can help, but they are the only thing I am comfortable asking of you, particularly in the context of returning me to Juliet undamaged. I am not a mislabeled parcel."

[dark_light]

"I know you're not a mislabeled parcel," says Amariah softly. "There are other reasons not to want you damaged."

[eversomuchfun]

"Oh, yes," he says, sitting down in the grass. "You'll find that Sherlocks are unusually sensitive to the implication that we are only valuable by proxy, because under the covers most of us believe it as a literal truth. I lost most of that nonsense with my soul, but either a little of it has snuck back in or it returns under sufficient stress."

[dark_light]

"Sorry," says Amariah. "I didn't know that. It was a bad joke." She sits down too.

[eversomuchfun]

He hugs her again.

"Well, now you are informed."

[dark_light]

Hugs.

[eversomuchfun]

Definitely hugs.

[dark_light]

Time wears on.

Six days have gone by without a flicker from Jane.

The house is quiet, its occupants asleep.