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]

[Does your antimagic ward protect you from further spot-checking of the kind that let them determine my location last time?] Bella inquires. [I should probably not show up in your apartment again, because as your enchanted watch shows there are ways around it - they could just look in the window - but we could meet in places they don't know to expect you to appear, if they can't look at you anymore. Also, you may want to call Kolya back from wherever he's escaping to.]

[nonbird]

[I did. Speaking of Kolya, I would like you to send me some coins so I can put some security wishes on him when he gets back. I'll think about the spot-checking thing after cake.]

[self_composed]

[Let's talk wish design and figure out how many coins you need. Alice, send the man some cake, will you please?]

[edgeofyourseat]

[Sure!]

The logical place to put it is on Kolya's kitchen counter, so that is what he does: a plate with a generous slice of cake, complete with fork.

[nonbird]

[Thank you, Alice,] says Lazarus. [Consider yourself hugged in gratitude.]

Nom nom cake.

[self_composed]

[You had a look at my powers. Did they look suitable to you?] Bella asks. [You could also continue using the watch for mental defensive purposes. Libby didn't seem to notice it. But we're not short enough on hexes that you have to if you'd rather not depend on an accessory.]

[nonbird]

[I would rather not depend on an accessory,] he confirms.

[self_composed]

[So you've got antimagic, Bridget-style anti-injury, and need a mental defense, and Kolya has antimagic from earlier but needs mental and either anti-injury or regen, whichever he prefers,] Bella says. [That adds up to three. Am I neglecting anything?]

[nonbird]

[No, I think that covers it.]

[self_composed]

Bella appears three hexes on the plate. [Please deploy only for authorized uses.]

[nonbird]

[Okay,] he says agreeably. First thing, he wishes himself mental defense.

Then he contacts Kolya again.

After a minute, he reports, [All used up.]

[self_composed]

[Good. Has Libby actually convinced you it would be a bad idea for me to know how to safely use my heap of stars? Because that would be disappointing.]

[nonbird]

[I totally agree with her that blowing up the world would be bad!] he says. [I just don't agree with her that you're going to.]

[self_composed]

[I'm not going to blow up the world. I live here, and my parents live here, and cute fuzzy animals live here, and so on,] Bella agrees.

[nonbird]

[Exactly!]

[self_composed]

[So: do we think you're safe from surveillance now? If you magic-door from your place to Alice's lair and gaze meditatively at stars for a while, will anyone notice?]

[nonbird]

[A spot-check with a wish wouldn't catch me,] he says. [But someone with a surveillance power could tell.]

[self_composed]

[Like the precog?] guesses Bella.

[nonbird]

[As an example, yes. Or the distance-viewer.]

[self_composed]

[Hmm.] Bella considers. [You can see magic through the magic door just fine. I could leave a star by the exit in Alice's lair, the door to which is just around the corner from the door to your building, and you could hang around near the door but not go through it and inspect from there. Nothing much for spies to see, and I think we have to expect them to look or I doubt Libby would have been so willing to keep you unwishable. Would that do the trick, do you think?]

[nonbird]

[Well, it'll get me a look at a star,] he says. [I don't know if that will tell me anything about them.]

[self_composed]

[You just used three hexagons, did you learn anything interesting?]

[nonbird]

[I was a little preoccupied,] he admits.

[self_composed]

Bella sighs. [Would you like perfect recall? It's tremendously useful. Wishes work just fine if you wish for a duplicate of someone else's power, we've found, so you can just swipe what I have and watch it happen.]

[nonbird]

[Does your perfect recall make you have paid more attention in the first place?]