No One Here Would Understand As Well As Me

[here_together]

It's probably harder for most people to stay off the grid than you would think, but when you have unusual enough (and useful enough) talents, there's always someone willing to help you out, in exchange for something only you can give them. (Incentives. Supply and demand. The carrot is so much more useful than the stick--and so much less likely to get you hurt in return.) And their magic (it has to be their magic, even when they're a her instead of a they, otherwise the investiture would just fall apart) is uncommonly useful.

Right now they (definitely a they, right now) are kicking back and relaxing in a little no-tell motel. There's free wifi, at least, and the employee who discretely got them a room in exchange for clearing up a few issues also snuck them some decently filling snacks, so they're pretty much good to go until they decide to do something else. Or something interesting happens.

Comments

[inourhead]

[Yes please.]

[here_together]

The pastry cabinet contains an approximately coffeeshop-typical assortment of pastries. [Red velvet is just chocolate with red food coloring, I think. I'm not completely sure why it's a thing but I can appreciate it on an aesthetic level,] she commentates as they pass over the muffin section.

[inourhead]

[...Huh, I guess you would need to mix coloring into stuff, wouldn't you. I'll have the one with nuts? And that sandwich? I'm really hungry.]

[here_together]

The Earth natives purchase the requested items and then locate a table for the nonnatives to eat and for themselves to look for pet stores.

[inourhead]

Oh wow it's real non-troported food this is the best thing om nom nom.

[here_together]

Aww.

Tak tak tak pet stores pet stores preferably pet stores that will let you buy stuff without annoying questions about how you intend to take care of the things.

[Okay, we found a good place,] Edie reports. [How many mice do you need?]

[inourhead]

[It depends on if we have to stuff them all in the travel cage or not.]

[here_together]

[We could get you a larger cage if you want but as long as you're relying on us as you're native guides you're probably going to do a fair amount of traveling.]

[inourhead]

[The travel cage can fit twelve and they should all be females so they don't fight or breed.]

[here_together]

[That, I actually found while I was researching pet mice.]

[inourhead]

[It's still weird people keep them as pets.]

[here_together]

[We sleep and don't troport. We have no reason not to.]

[inourhead]

[Yeah, I guess that makes sense.]

[here_together]

[The store's farther than I'd rather walk given alternatives and intra-city flight is likely to draw attention. How would you like a hands-on lesson on public transportation?]

[inourhead]

[Um, like carriages?]

[here_together]

[Bigger, faster, made of metal, not pulled by horses.]

[inourhead]

[Okay, let's do it.]

[here_together]

[I'll look up the bus system.]

tak tak.

[Okay, nearest bus stop's about a block from here.]

[inourhead]

[Okay.]

[here_together]

Bus stop and bus are both fairly standard examples of their types. There aren't a lot of seats open, so the Xaviers demonstrate the use of the dangling loops.

[inourhead]

Okay then! Holly catches on pretty well.

[here_together]

As the bus starts moving it soon becomes apparent that these loops really are necessary for not falling over.

[inourhead]

Holly's got decent balance, but yes, the loops help.

[here_together]

From there it doesn't take long to get to the pet store, which contains a highly chipper saleslady who is slightly bemused at an order for twelve mice and keeps trying to persuade them to buy a larger cage.

[inourhead]

Emily and Edie are going to have to address this for her because Holly doesn't know a lick of English and even Crystal hasn't got more than a few words.