we are not truly immortal

[dark_light]

After Glass's party is over with, Amariah and Kas go home.

Amariah fetches down their alethiometers.

"It's about time I took care of Alethia's afterlife, whatever it may be," she says quietly. "What can the alethiometer tell you about what I'll find?"

Comments

[truthwright]

"It didn't specify singular or plural, but it didn't call me what it usually does, it called me a Joker. And it meant Aianon, too, kind of."

[lifes_sake]

"Maybe you guys just... don't have a 'guilty' setting?"

[truthwright]

"Yeah, that's pretty accurate."

[lifes_sake]

"So I guess if I can't happify the harpies on my first try and I get wrecked - although I don't have nearly as much material as Shell Bell I don't know how much that matters - we bring in Jellybean, since wizards have harpy-happifying powers and he's a Joker."

[truthwright]

"Sounds like a plan," says Kas.

[lifes_sake]

"Can I fly faster than a harpy can?" Cam asks the alethiometer.

[truthwright]

"You can."

[lifes_sake]

"Okay, so if the Jokers scare them off next time we're in eyeshot we can chase them," Cam tells Amariah.

[truthwright]

Kas giggles softly. His ghostly friends cluster closer.

[pythbox]

Ghosty observes through the link that she is still tracking this harpy, and should she find the rest of them instead?

[lifes_sake]

If she could direct them to the harpy, that would be swell.

[pythbox]

Fuck if she knows where they are.

[truthwright]

Kas asks his alethiometer for directions to the nearest harpy.

[lifes_sake]

And the party all follows its lead.

[pythbox]

The nearest harpy, it turns out, has several friends.

[lifes_sake]

Hmm.

Cam holds up a hand for everyone to stop.

He approaches a little nearer, just within shouting distance.

He flares aura, brightly, brightly.

[pythbox]

The harpies—there are five—circle warily.

[lifes_sake]

"Can we talk?" Cam calls. "No screeching, just talking?"

[pythbox]

"Go ahead and talk," a harpy calls back derisively.

[lifes_sake]

"I want to know why you hurt the shades here," Cam says. "And see if we can come up with a compromise that doesn't involve that."

[pythbox]

"We like to," says a harpy.

"They deserve it," says another.

"It's food for us," says a third.

[lifes_sake]

Cam glances at his alethiometer.

"This truth-telling device says you hunger for truth," he tells them. "Not all truth is about bad things people have done."

[pythbox]

"Isn't it?"

"Then why is that all we see?"

"And all they see—"

"—after a while!"

The harpies cackle.

[lifes_sake]

"Because you are doing screamy-magic at them," says Cam, "that brings it to the surface. One of the other harpies met one of our friends, and screamed at her, but if she'd just talked to her nicely Shell Bell could have told her all sorts of true things about her life, and the things she's seen."

[pythbox]

"Oh, yeah?"

"Like what?"