you can throw me if you want

[truthwright]

It turns out that there was really not much point to making a schedule. Kas and Helen visit the witch clan whenever Helen feels like it, and stay as long as she wants, and go when she wants to be somewhere else, and it all adds up to plenty more time spent with the clan than away.

After the aquarium jaunt with Ranata, it's a little more than a month before they visit the clan again.

Comments

[carillons]

"Let's ask your mom!"

[alicornucopia]

Off they go in search of Shura's mom!

[carillons]

"Hi, Shura's mom! Are there spells you can use to cook stuff when you don't have an oven?" says Helen. "Like cake?"

[alicornucopia]

"If you don't have an oven, you can cook with magic," says Shura's mom. "It would never be worth the trouble if you did have one, though. Lot of runes."

[carillons]

"I want to learn how!" she says. "I like cooking and I don't have ovens all the time!"

[alicornucopia]

"You're not up to runes yet," says Shura's mom. "Too fiddly for little witches. You'll start them when you're nine or ten depending."

[carillons]

"Awwww," says Helen. "Not even if I try really really hard and learn really really well?"

[alicornucopia]

"You'd have to be a little prodigy," says Shura's mom.

[carillons]

"Well, how do I do that?"

[alicornucopia]

"You'd need to learn all the verse and herbs you're supposed to learn before getting to runes," says Shura's mom. "And convince whoever would be teaching you runes that you are responsible and not reckless."

[carillons]

Helen giggles.

"Okay!" she says.

[alicornucopia]

"You're off away from witches a lot," says Shura. "Unless you are hiding a mom somewhere off away." (She gestures again to off away.)

[carillons]

"I am not hiding any extra parents anywhere!" she says. "I only have the one. But that's why I wanna learn an oven spell, see, because when I'm with the clan I can cook at Charlie's house but when I'm off away sometimes there isn't anywhere to cook at all!"

[alicornucopia]

"I think you are the only person who only has one parent," says Shura thoughtfully.

Even orphans "have" parents, now.

[carillons]

"Maybe I am!" says Helen.

[alicornucopia]

"That's pe-cu-li-ar," says Shura, sounding it out.

[carillons]

Helen giggles.

"Where'd you hear that word?"

[alicornucopia]

"I don't remember. I read it someplace."

[carillons]

"It's a fun word! Pecuuuuuuuuuuliar," she says, giggling again.

[alicornucopia]

"Peculiar peculiar," echoes Shrura, and Nicoa adds an iteration. (He's on her shoulder as a squirrel.)

[carillons]

"Pecuuuuuliaaaaaaaaaaaar," trills Kalavar, climbing up Helen's hair as a teeny tiny dragon.

[alicornucopia]

"You're so often dragons," Nicoa comments to Kalavar.

[carillons]

"I like dragons! Dragons are fun!" says Kalavar. She flaps her flame-red wings.

[alicornucopia]

"In some years we'll be birds forever," says Nicoa with mixed feelings.

[carillons]

"Maybe not," says Kalavar. "Not everybody settles. Petaal didn't!"