self_composed | i'm just that fascinating i guess

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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

self_composed

[One no-magic-interference hex coming right up,] says Bella. Wish, poof.

She writes back, carefully. The email exchange contained no evidence of Bella herself having magic - but it's probably still the most suspicious thing in Lazarus's inbox.

You must be Kolya. I didn't do anything with Lazarus. What makes you think I did?

From:

nonbird

[Thank you,] says Lazarus.

Kolya's reply comes a few minutes later:

SOMEONE did something with him. if not you then who? where is he i want him back help.

From:

self_composed

[Can you think of a good way to warn Kolya about the brainphone without warning - whoever - if we assume that they can hack into your email?] Bella asks.

I don't know who might have done that.

It's not helpful, but keeping Kolya focused on replying to emails instead of making an obvious - visible - fuss seems like a good plan.

From:

nonbird

[Not really,] says Lazarus. [If you put him on it, can I talk to him first? He might like that better.]

Kolya does not reply.

From:

self_composed

[Okay.] She adds Kolya to the brainphone network. [Chat away unto Kolya.]

From:

nonbird

[Is there anything specific you'd rather I didn't tell him?]

From:

self_composed

[No specific thing you can't tell him if it seems like he ought to know, at this point - he already knows something's going on and thinks I'm involved - but I'd rather be present in the conversation if you want to tell him everything instead of just calming him down.]

From:

nonbird

[There is no calming him down without telling him everything,] says Lazarus.

From:

self_composed

[This magic supports conference calls,] Bella says.

From:

nonbird

[All right,] sighs Lazarus.

And a moment later: [Kolya? It's me.]

The third party to the call yelps wordlessly.

[Yes, I know, magic mental phone,] says Lazarus. [It's very weird. I'm with you there.]

[Where are you,] says a quiet, woeful voice presumably belonging to Kolya.

[Well, I'm not sure,] Lazarus admits. [But I'm more or less safe for the moment. And it's not Bella's fault, exactly.]

[You're so reassuring,] sniffs Kolya. [How is it inexactly her fault?]

[Kind of a long story,] says Lazarus.

From:

self_composed

[FYI, not a private conversation,] Bella inserts. [My apologies for my inexact fault. Someone has been spying on Lazarus - what I think happened is that when I came for a visit, they couldn't do that anymore because I'm all wrapped up in defensive magic, and they yoinked him to find out what was going on.]

From:

nonbird

[Oh,] says Kolya.

[Sorry,] says Lazarus.

[Don't you be sorry. You didn't kidnap yourself,] Kolya admonishes. [Who was it? Was it the creepy witch lady? I bet it was the creepy witch lady.]

[...As far as I know, it wasn't Chris,] says Lazarus. [But currently that is not very far at all.]

From:

self_composed

[I think we'll find out more about who, once they reach Lazarus,] Bella says. [They obviously want him alive, so they've almost certainly got someone on the way to chat with him.]

From:

nonbird

[That sounds bad,] says Kolya.

[Better than them not wanting me alive,] says Lazarus.

[That's not saying much!]

From:

self_composed

[Yes, this is all bad. By the way, Kolya, you're now immune to coin-based magical attempts to mess with you, including via further yoinking - but I don't want to assume their resources are all magical. There might be folks on their way to you too. You may wish to consider being hidey - and that might not do the trick if they know about you, such as via Chris's involvement, and flood the apartment with chloroform or something. So you might also want to consider being in a place you have never previously visited.]

From:

nonbird

[I can do that,] says Kolya, sounding less sniffly and more somewhere between resigned and determined.

[Make sure you pack everything you might need,] Lazarus says anxiously. [I mean it.]

[Okay,] says Kolya. [Don't worry, I will.]

From:

self_composed

[Lazarus, I'm beginning to wonder where, geographically, you are. Are there windows - is it night or day?] Bella asks. [Is there writing on the boxes and so on? What's the temperature like, and is there any AC or heating on that you can determine? Humidity, audible wildlife outside, traffic noises?]

From:

nonbird

[Day,] says Lazarus. [No writing on the boxes, but the emergency exit signs are in English. Temperature's a little cold, I can't tell about climate control but I'm guessing no. No audible wildlife. Maybe some traffic? But not close. So I guess I'm not that far from home. I could even still be in Toronto. ...I can think of a way you could locate me more precisely, but I'm not sure you'd like it.]

From:

self_composed

[Actually, you know what, I was able to make a wish about the watch - I'll just see if I can find that. I'm curious what your idea was, though.]

Bella kills a pentagon to know the latitude, longitude, altitude, and address of the watch she enchanted.

From:

nonbird

It turns out the watch is in New York City.

[Well, I can see magic,] he says. [So if you just made a line of magic over the surface of the Earth, and moved it around, I could see when it got to me. Repeat at different angles for triangulation. Did yours work?]

From:

self_composed

[Yep. You're in New York City.]

From:

nonbird

[I am not sure what to do with that information,] he says. [But it's good to know, I guess.]

From:

self_composed

[Well, if anything comes up that could be fixed by me coming there in person, I now know where to go. I don't expect anything like that, so long as you keep me posted, though. Kolya, how are you doing, do you need help with anything?]