we will seek my buried inheritance

[self_composed]

Bella fixes French toast for breakfast to salvage stale bread, and, having seen Charlie off to work, hops in her own car and makes for Alice's house. She arrives at nine-thirty, and goes up to the doorbell and rings it.

Comments

[edgeofyourseat]

"...Well, fuck," says Alice.

[self_composed]

"Ah-huh."

[edgeofyourseat]

"...Hey, close that for a sec?"

[self_composed]

"Uh, sure, why?" She puts the lid down.

[edgeofyourseat]

He reaches over and opens it.

"'Cause I wanted to see if I could do that or not," he says.

[self_composed]

"Congratulations."

She returns to staring at the empty hex compartment.

[edgeofyourseat]

"So, what the fuck are you gonna do about that?" he asks, pointing to the star.

[self_composed]

"Nothing - well, I'll wear it, but no wishing - until I have a good idea why stars go wrong and think I can get around it."

[edgeofyourseat]

"Good plan."

[self_composed]

"Yeah."

And, unnecessarily: "There's no hexes in here."

[edgeofyourseat]

"...yep," says Alice. "Noticed that."

[self_composed]

"Fuck."

[edgeofyourseat]

"Yep."

[self_composed]

"Are there any of these I shouldn't wish onto the necklace that you would like to have?" Bella asks quietly. "In case... it takes me a long time."

[edgeofyourseat]

"I can live without any of 'em," he says, shrugging.

"...How big a coin does it take to fix broken bones, though?"

[self_composed]

"Did it with a pentagon for my leg, when I fell. A square might have been enough but I didn't have one to try at the time."

[edgeofyourseat]

"Then I think I want one of those," he says, grabbing a pentagon. "And some of these," a handful of squares.

[self_composed]

"That all?"

[edgeofyourseat]

"Mmm..."

After considering it for a moment, he scoops a handful of triangles too.

"There."

[self_composed]

One more square suffices to get all the remaining coins onto Bella's invisible necklace. She looks at the treasure chest.

"Well," she says. "It's a neat box but I don't really want to drag it through a mile of woods at this time. And if I put it back, another half an hour or so elapses. And I don't really want to leave it out, because while the weather is not particularly wet today, that won't last, and it could rot or something, and it might have magical properties I'll want to check out.

She mulls this over. "I bet a square can shrink it."

And indeed one can.

She puts the treasure chest in her pocket.

[edgeofyourseat]

"Cute or hot," Alice says musingly, "I can't even decide."

[self_composed]

"Can things not be both?" she asks, setting back towards their footprints in the soft ground.

[edgeofyourseat]

"Okay, yes," he acknowledges, "they can."

[self_composed]

There is a stretch of silence.

They approach the enormous rock again.

"Well," she says. "I guess I should climb this thing."

[edgeofyourseat]

"Do you want to?"