and my ears will listen

[truthwright]

Time goes by. Shura's mother lets her cut a cloudpine branch, and she and Helen go flying together.

Helen celebrates her eighth birthday by baking all her favourite people a cake again. And then she goes away with Kas, to Iceland and Russia and back by way of Alaska.

When they fly in, Kas on Petaal's cloudpine and Helen on her own, Helen is wearing blue jeans and a pink T-shirt.

Comments

[alicornucopia]

[Can't anyone else do what Sue does?]

[truthwright]

[Not so far.]

[alicornucopia]

[Goddesses all.]

[truthwright]

[alicornucopia]

[Is this otherworldly magic also why you can do all the other odd things you do - and - how Isabella did what she did?]

[truthwright]

[Well... yes and no. Petaal didn't settle because that's how I am, and she can be a witch and fly cloudpine because that's how she is. But this thing we're doing right now, that's otherworldly magic. And not dying when somebody hits me with a death curse, or stabs me somewhere important, that's otherworldly magic too. And Isabella fixed the afterlife with otherworldly magic, and some otherworldly help.]

[alicornucopia]

[This is a lot to take in.]

[truthwright]

[Yep.]

[alicornucopia]

[At least now I don't have to just - take your word for it that she'll come back.]

[truthwright]

[...you still kind of do. But yeah.]

[alicornucopia]

[I mean, there's a more complete story now.]

[truthwright]

He nods.

[alicornucopia]

[What else haven't you been telling me? Does this have to do with how Helen can talk over such distances?]

[truthwright]

[Yeah. One of the kinds of otherworldly magic, I think - Helen is only about the second or third time it's happened - that if you make a lot of it, your kids get born with superpowers.]

[alicornucopia]

[Make it?]

[truthwright]

[It's called 'minting'; the magic comes in the form of coins that grant wishes. I've made a bunch but hardly used any in comparison, and same for another of me who also had some kids who came out with the kind of superpowers that people from Eos sometimes get - Eos is the world where minting comes from.]

[alicornucopia]

[This is a lot of worlds. How did you keep track of them?]

[truthwright]

He shrugs. [I dunno. I don't, anymore, I know there were a bunch more but I couldn't list them or anything.]

[alicornucopia]

Ranata bows her head.

[Does Helen know - any of it?]

[truthwright]

[Nope.]

[alicornucopia]

[Are you going to tell her?]

[truthwright]

[Yeah. I just don't know when.]

[alicornucopia]

[How are you going to tell her?]

[truthwright]

[What do you mean?]

[alicornucopia]

[What are you going to start with - are you just going to drop in bits and pieces or sit her down like the talk about how sex works or something - what are you going to do?]