slow progress

[keep_busy]

Eventually Annie goes home for the day. Her mother lives a long but doable walk from campus, but Annie makes the trip by tricycle for speed and safety, or bus when the ice is too bad to allow riding. This is a trike day.

She tells her mother as straightforwardly as she can what has happened.

Her mother wants to meet the boy, but accepts that this should probably wait until the situation with Zevaia changes one way or another.

A few hours after Annie gets home, she gets a call from the Dean's office. There are results in; she can go hear them at the office. Apparently they're not supposed to release them over the phone for some obscure reason of policy.

Coat goes back on Annie, Annie goes back on trike, trike goes back on campus.

Comments

[keep_busy]

"How terrible a side effect would you put up for really good weather control?"

[touchedinthehead]

"Pretty terrible, actually. Even the teleportation side-effect. I wouldn't take it if it made me incapable of figuring out how to use it properly, though. But if it's a fear of shoelaces, I wouldn't complain."

[keep_busy]

"I'm pretty sure the teleportation side effect would make me incapable of thinking straight. I might be able to follow some plan I made ahead of time, if the power were straightforward to use."

[touchedinthehead]

Aldaras winces. "That... sentence has the interesting effect of making me want to screech, scoop you up into a protective hug, and volunteer to touch the artifact in your place so you never ever have to do that."

[keep_busy]

"Uh... sorry about that. I'm not planning to. You can hug me again if you want."

[touchedinthehead]

Well, she did just give him permission to. He scoops her up into a very - snuggly and protective hug. With gentle hair pets.

"Good," he murmurs. "It's okay, it took me by surprise, too. I just - please. Don't ever touch the teleportation artifact."

[keep_busy]

"I don't need to teleport nearly that badly." Hug.

[touchedinthehead]

Aldaras nods. "Yeah. Good, I'm - I don't ever want to see you in that kind of pain," he says fiercely. "Never."

[keep_busy]

"Believe me, it doesn't appeal on this end either."

Snuggle.

[touchedinthehead]

Protective snuggles. No horrific artifact that gives Annie a fate worse than death. Ever.

"Taking care of the knife is up to the seventies now, that's an interesting side effect."

[keep_busy]

"I'm not sure how that works."

[touchedinthehead]

"It's a little bewildering and I'm not sure how to explain it. Basically I realized abruptly that the knife is really, excessively dangerous to you and I want to make it go away more."

[keep_busy]

"I hope you can."

[touchedinthehead]

"Yeah. Me, too."

Slightly more protective snuggling.

[keep_busy]

Snuggle. This is nice, except for the panic-fueled part.

[touchedinthehead]

"If you'd like me to let go, I will, I'm just - I really, really want you to be safe."

[keep_busy]

"If the knife wanders onto campus you have my permission to pick me up and lock me in a closet."

[touchedinthehead]

"Thank you." He pauses. ".... If it were to randomly wander onto campus and - and get you, can I - the necklace, I'm - I don't want you to be forced or - but I - do you prefer that over -" He makes a little unhappy sound and curls around her more. "What do I do in that situation?"

[keep_busy]

"I would rather be necklaced than cut."

[touchedinthehead]

"Okay," he whimpers, obviously rather distressed. "But I don't want either option. Okay? I will go with locking you in a closet before any of those options and - and I don't know, I would rather grab teleportation than let the knife near you."

[keep_busy]

"I understand."

Hug.

[touchedinthehead]

Hug. Extra snuggly hug.

"I need to make the knife go away," he growls, a little desperately.

[keep_busy]

"Yes. I know. The only thing you can do right now is wait for the dean." Hug.

[touchedinthehead]

He nods, a little. "They should have - multiple people touched with the harp, it's not efficient."

[keep_busy]

"It's not, but they want a monopoly on identification."