i'm just that fascinating i guess

[self_composed]

The first day Bella spends out and about with her new who's-watching-me powers, she is rather alarmed.

Maybe she's just mistaken about how much time people spend looking at reasonably pretty eighteen-year-old girls. She kills a pentagon to try it on a nearby control - who's looking at that girl over there?

Fewer people. Fewer people are looking at that random girl, and less intently. They're looking at her familiarly - they know her - or casually - they're checking her out.

[I have a spy problem,] Bella says. She makes a faintly exaggerated show of snapping her fingers in frustration and turning around. She's going back to her room to get a mirror and bobby pins and barettes, so she can spy back on the pretense of checking her hair, without making it overwhelmingly obvious that she knows what's going on.

Comments

[self_composed]

[One time got it out of my system.]

[nonbird]

[Well, if you decide to talk to him with your magical Skype, can I warn him first?]

[self_composed]

[Yes. We usually call it a "brainphone"; I didn't install video capabilities,] Bella says. [But I'd want to email him first.]

[nonbird]

[Okay,] says Lazarus.

[self_composed]

[At any rate, wanna come for a visit? We can handle commuting. There's already a magic door between school and my hometown. I'd just need to know where another such device ought to lead.] Pause. [Hang on, let me just actually spot-check to see if you are being watched.]

Pentagon goes. Checking, checking...

[nonbird]

Lazarus is currently not being directly observed by any means, magical or mundane, that Bella's pentagon can detect.

[Well?]

[self_composed]

[Nothing I can turn up with a pentagon. Do you want to visit now? My roommate is out all weekend visiting family, and so far no one has been attempting to spy on me in my actual room. All I need to know is where to make the magic door in the stairwell.]

[nonbird]

[...I'm not sure where I'd put a magic door,] he says. [I don't exactly have a wardrobe handy.]

[self_composed]

[Ours is in an unobtrusive wall in a stairwell, so we can see if anyone's coming. It's invisible to most people, and doesn't admit sound or strangers, and so on,] Bella adds. [So you could put it anywhere there's space to walk. It wouldn't even have to be in a surface; you won't go through by accident even if it's in the middle of your living room.]

[nonbird]

[Yes, but I'd notice it all the time,] he points out. [And I don't really want anyone teleporting into the middle of my living room. Hmm.]

[self_composed]

[Hallway, backyard, unisex bathroom of nearest coffee shop,] Bella rattles off, unconcerned.

[nonbird]

[Hmm,] says Lazarus. [I think I'll go for a walk and see if I find anything that looks acceptable.]

[self_composed]

[Okay. Please remember not to act weird; you weren't being supervised when I checked but it's probably easier to have eyes on you out of doors. If I were my nemesis I'd kidnap you and make it very inconvenient to kidnap you back again.]

[nonbird]

[I'm not sure I know what acting weird means in this context.]

[self_composed]

[Go places you normally go, don't whistle casually if you don't usually whistle casually, do not make excessively thoughtful or otherwise noticeable facial expressions compared to your baseline. We can pause in chatting if that would be helpful.]

[nonbird]

[Wandering aimlessly and making thoughtful faces isn't all that unusual for me,] he says cheerfully.

[self_composed]

[All right then, you're probably good.]

[nonbird]

[Out of curiosity, how am I going to specify this piece of wall to you when I find it?]

[self_composed]

[Magic's pretty clever. Get me an address and a description that doesn't match any other parts of wall and a hex can find it for me, no problem.]

[nonbird]

[That's fascinating,] says Lazarus. [Have you experimented with degree of specification?]

[self_composed]

[Except insofar as the wishes constitute natural experiments, not much - it may vary with coin size, and while I can be moderately frivolous with hexes, I wouldn't like to be caught short of them if something unwelcome were to happen unexpectedly. I have made many wishes in the course of things and have a decent feel for what they'll do, though.]

[nonbird]

[Moderately frivolous,] he repeats. [How moderately? And while we're on the subject, actually, since you know more about this than me, what is the size and complexity of wish associated to each coin?]

[self_composed]

[As in, if I want to use one, I use one - I just prefer to be decently sure that I want to use one. Triangles do tiny things. Flick lightswitches across the room, hurry along kitchen tasks like boiling water, banish itches in inconvenient locations in the middle of your back, whatever. I'll give you a bagful as a signing bonus into the conspiracy if you like. You could probably do creative productive things if you wanted, with a triangle - I'd use one to pull a fire alarm anonymously if I wanted a building evacuated, for instance. Squares are next up and if I were dealing with coin scarcity I'd use more of them than anything else. They can conjure inherently nonmagical medium-sized physical objects, perform tasks a grade up from triangle sorts of things, grant temporary nonmagical skills - it's disconcerting as hell when those go away though - and make illusions that stay put till you want them gone. Pentagons are good for permanent nonmagical skills, like my languages and stuff, and they can also conjure modestly magical objects, like my kickass motorcycle or appliances that don't need electricity. Hexes are good for permanent magical superpowers - stuff the X-Men could do, except it's worth being careful in design - and big, complicated makings-of-stuff, like doors that lead hundreds or thousands of miles away.]

[nonbird]

He pauses to sort through this in his head.

Then: [You have a magic motorcycle?]

[self_composed]

[It's not obtrusively magical, but it's obtrusively awesome. It won't start or move for anyone but me without my say-so, and it doesn't need gas, though it'll take it if I need to fill up in front of somebody for some reason. And it is prettyful.]