witchcraft and sorcery

[witchwatcher]

For a brief moment, in a certain part of fairyland there is a tear that leads to the cold sky above a snow-covered hilly forest somewhere in the mortal world.

Comments

[imeanforever]

Presently: "I think I can cast on you now." Scatter and Copycat turn invisible. Promise remains visible and leads a search for a nice place to hole up while waiting for it to be safe to grab a tree cutting.

Unless a Witch interrupts her, she will find somewhere she likes after about an hour.

[witchwatcher]

The Witches are both patient enough and sufficiently fascinated by the landscape to just follow her quietly.

[imeanforever]

The place Promise likes is by a river and has some edible-looking plants nearby - Promise nibbles on some of them - and a vein of rock that she thinks she will be able to turn into a habitable if not very treelike cave with some inspection and sorcery.

[witchwatcher]

Some eating sounds are coming from one of the invisible Witches. If asked, Copycat insists that it was a still-sealed can of fruit.

Scatter asks, "How high does the air go? Could I teleport a couple hundred miles up and make a map?"

[imeanforever]

"The air thins out. I don't know what would happen to you if you went that far."

[witchwatcher]

"Translation: Bad Idea," Copycat says.

"Yeah, yeah. I kinda wish I could afford one of those fancy... Uh, what're they called? The picture-taking machines."

"Cameras. They're brand new, the last three years at most. But you'll be able to afford one when Promise makes us some gold."

[imeanforever]

"I'll need more raw material than this to make you any significant amount."

[witchwatcher]

"I've got a whole sackful of bullets. But the gold can wait until you're a bit more situated."

[imeanforever]

Promise nods.

She starts mapping the harmonics of the cliff face, while she studies the more mundane properties of the stone.

[witchwatcher]

Scatter asks, "Will I stay invisible if I get further away from you? I want to sketch that crystal hill over thataway from a better angle."

[imeanforever]

"You'll stay invisible until I revisible you, a lot of time passes, or you go back to the mortal world."

[witchwatcher]

"In that case, I'll be back in about an hour."

She flies off towards that hill.

"I'll probably get her to put us back home when it's time for us to sleep. No sense risking anything when we can come and go relatively easily."

[imeanforever]

"I'm going to go foraging. You might want to follow me if you don't want to be here alone."

[witchwatcher]

"May as well." Copycat follows.


Scatter, meanwhile, is not actually looking at that hill. She's looking for another fairy. Two reasons - to see what other kinds of fairies there are, and because Gren is not eager enough to see if fairies can neutralize Neuroi.

[alicornucopia]

It'll take some looking. Fairyland is not densely populated.

Here is one a little shorter than Promise, though, whistling and plaiting together grass into a sort of fabric. She's a different kind; her wings are more butterfly like, but in a plain-brown-butterfly way, nothing flashy.

[witchwatcher]

Scatter watches this fairy for a while. Long enough to get a feel for her form, so she can teleport to her later.

Does this fairy have anything that is obviously food nearby her?

[alicornucopia]

She does not appear to have brought any snacks, but after enough supervision, she eats some of the grass. Munch munch.

[witchwatcher]

No obvious way to sneak a few grains of rice into a stalk of grass.

She'll think of something later. She scouts around for other fairies for a little while, finds no more, and returns to where Promise was.

[imeanforever]

Promise has done some scouting and foraging and is now munching on nuts and berries while excavating herself a cave.

[witchwatcher]

And Copycat is invisibly reading something. She hears Scatter approach. "Hey, how'd your sketching go?"

"Turns out it's pretty hard to draw while you're invisible. I think it's about time for us to go home, I'm getting tired."

[imeanforever]

"When should I expect you back?"

[witchwatcher]

"Ten to twelve hours?"

"Sounds about right."

"Should I leave the bullets here or just bring 'em back tomorrow?"

[imeanforever]

"You can leave them if you want but I won't have them transmuted in that time. I'm going to be pretty occupied getting this place livable."

[witchwatcher]

"I'll just bring 'em back tomorrow then. Bye."

Poof. They're gone.

[imeanforever]

Promise uses the intervening time to:

a) make enough cave to lie down in without too much of a draft or opportunity for unwanted intruders;

b) plant one of her berries and make a more convenient bush take hold on the riverbank;

c) have a good long cry;

d) sleep.

She is still asleep when the Witches come back.