friendly door

[her_imperial_radiance]

Elspeth gets a door.

It's been so long she reels for a moment, and then she throws herself forward and almost lands in a peal of Bells. Yes, there's Shell Bell, there's Juliet and Aurora, there's Glass, there's some Matilda she hasn't seen before.

"Elspeth!" exclaims Glass.

"How long has it been?" Aurora asks.

"Seventeen years. Shell Bell - I need you to help me find Harley," says Elspeth.

Comments

[pythbox]

He giggles and hugs Brilliance, causing another brief coziness flare.

[cross_and_bow]

[Corona's all set with his aura, we're about ready to get out of here,] Juliet reports to Elspeth, conferencing in Harley as a courtesy.

[her_imperial_radiance]

"Do you want me to ask if you can take one of these things home with you?" Elspeth asks Harley.

[pythbox]

Harley nods, hugging his armful of glowing, humming poofs.

[her_imperial_radiance]

Elspeth asks. "Glass says they are called poofs, and you can take one but they need the water that's found here, which can be replicated with coins to no ill effect."

[pythbox]

Harley nods again, and hugs his poofpile.

After a moment, he sits up and scoops them all out of his lap and onto the floor as gently as possible. A big bluish-lavender poof immediately hops back into his lap; he hugs it and grins.

[her_imperial_radiance]

Elspeth stands up again and teleports them to the subpeal.

[exactlyright]

"You kept one," observes Carinna. "What are you going to call it?"

[pythbox]

Harley closes his eyes and pets his poof. After a few seconds, he shrugs.

[exactlyright]

"You'll think of something," says Carinna. "Mine is named Mossy."

[cross_and_bow]

"We ready to leave?" Juliet asks everyone.

[pythbox]

Harley pets his nameless poof.

Corona says, "Sure! Hell if I'm going back where I came from, though." To Elspeth, he says, "You're not either, right? Can I come wherever you're going?"

[her_imperial_radiance]

Elspeth is deprogramming Corona again. "I'm going back to Aurum. I think my door-friendliness is back to normal, so even if Mama turns out not to want arbitrary numbers of Jokers in her world it should be relatively straightforward to send you to Origin instead."

[pythbox]

"Okay," says Corona. "Count me in, then." He gives Brilliance a goodbye kiss.

[thaumobabble]

"Jarvis, if you would?"

[poeticterms]

"Of course."

He opens a door to Milliways.

[thaumobabble]

Through go Bells and Jokers and Elspeth.

[her_imperial_radiance]

Elspeth opens the door once it has closed, and lo, it is Aurum.

Before she goes through, she looks over her shoulder at Glass.

"Is that attractor done with Harley yet?" she asks softly.

[thaumobabble]

"...Yeah," says Glass, after a long stare. "He's not - safe exactly, but it's not pulling on him, any more."

[her_imperial_radiance]

"Thank you."

Elspeth holds the door for Corona, then follows, carrying Harley.

[pythbox]

"Bye, everybody!" says Corona. "Thanks for raising me from the dead!"

And the door closes behind them.

[incanted]

[Agent Honey, you still lurking in here?]

[withmypowers]

[Yep! Why, did you need me for something?]

[incanted]

[Nope, we're just going back to Gift if you want to come.]

[withmypowers]

[No, thank you.]