Most Likely A Refuge

[whatamithinking]

It was probably safe.

The bar was...unusually reticent, in the lower layers of her mind (and she hadn't pried further; she wasn't sure if she'd be noticed; she wasn't sure if offending would get her kicked out, and regardless of whether it was actually safe it was safer than anywhere else she'd been for the past...three years?) so she couldn't be sure this place wasn't really a trap of some kind, but the higher layers gave a plausible explanation that didn't involve being a trap, and whatever else it was warm and dry and had food. Her guard was probably a full 25% down. Positively trusting, these days.

Comments

[onceandforall]

"Yeah, likewise. We - still can't expect to cross paths regularly. I get doors whenever I want to fly to Buffalo, I guess, but you're stuck with random."

[whatamithinking]

"I'm going to see if I can get a spell to get doors. I don't know if it's even possible, technically, but there's no harm in trying."

[onceandforall]

"That would be cool. But any amount of time could still pass in my world while you were here and vice-versa. So that would enable leaving letters for one another in my room - which you may stay in, Bar, she can use my room - but not guarantee anything else."

[iamnotpolaris]

The door opens again.

An Emily walks through.

She takes one look at the two of them and looks extremely confused.

[onceandforall]

"...Hi."

[iamnotpolaris]

"If this place pauses time and Edie's already here how did I get here?"

[onceandforall]

"Are you sure this is your Edie? There was a different one in here a few minutes ago."

[iamnotpolaris]

"Well, I recognize you too. I held the door for you to get our kind of magic because Edie was in the cells for distracting the General?"

[onceandforall]

"Oh. Then this one is yours. I have no idea. Hello again."

The time pausing feature is only usually reliable.

"Bar says the time pausing feature is only usually reliable."

[iamnotpolaris]

"Hello again. This is slightly inconvenient, then, if time isn't paused. At least we have a back door, so I don't have to go out a window if I decide to leave the house before you're done in here."

[whatamithinking]

"What typically makes the timepausing unreliable?"

[alicornucopia]

Some effects synchronize time. When nothing of the kind can be found it is normally attributed to whatever force controls the door in the first place being capricious.

[whatamithinking]

"...How long did you say it was since the last time we saw each other?"

[onceandforall]

"I stayed in Milliways for a couple months and then had most of a full loop duration, plus a little less than a day getting to Buffalo. Granted, my time sense in Milliways may have been off because I wasn't keeping a strict sleep schedule..."

[whatamithinking]

"...That matches up pretty closely to how long it's been for me."

[onceandforall]

"I thought you said it'd been longer?"

[whatamithinking]

"Four months as in four calendar months have happened, not that all of them had elapsed during that time. In terms of counting the days I think it was actually closer to three."

[onceandforall]

"Oh, huh."

[whatamithinking]

"Given that my kind of magical girl powers are verifiably granted by a thing and don't have an obvious power source like human emotions I can't help but wonder if there's some kind of--persistent connection. That syncs time. D'you think I"m reaching?"

[onceandforall]

"Nnnnot necessarily. But this means it can sync time even while I'm screwing around with it."

[whatamithinking]

"Is that a bad thing? As long as there aren't any other of my kind of magical girl in your world, anyway."

[onceandforall]

"Not necessarily, but it means I have to be exquisitely careful not to let any fluffs out of the world because I am exclusively traveling through time within it."

[whatamithinking]

"Oooh, yeah, I can see how that would be a problem."

[onceandforall]

"Yeah. We're lucky the one didn't escape or try very hard when I brought it in."

[whatamithinking]

"Yeah."