Milliways Again

[her_imperial_radiance]

It lurks. Oh how it lurks.

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[prima_sequentem]

"Also you probably couldn't design and implement a magical currency system," says Libby. "Which is a pity, because watch."

She withdraws a *500 bill from her account and says, "Fold, please." It folds itself into a tiny, perfect origami swan.

"This is hands down my favourite anti-counterfeiting measure."

[her_imperial_radiance]

"That's adorable!" exclaims Elspeth. "Oh my word. What kind of magic do you have that you can do that? It's an anti-counterfeiting measure? Do they just all do that?"

[self_composed]

"Wish magic," Bella says. "Very comprehensive stuff. They do all do that - but different denominations make different birds. The coins just glow in assorted colors."

[prima_sequentem]

Libby deposits her swan, withdraws an ostrich, and repeats the request.

"See?"

[her_imperial_radiance]

Elspeth claps her hands. "That's really sweet." She pauses. "It's more... whimsical, than my mama."

[prima_sequentem]

"I wonder why that is," muses Libby. Although she has some guesses.

[her_imperial_radiance]

"How old are you?" Elspeth asks Bella.

[self_composed]

"Eighteen. As of not terribly long ago," Bella says.

[her_imperial_radiance]

"...I'm older than you," Elspeth says. "Even just chronologically. Oh, this is strange."

[self_composed]

"Did your mom become progressively less whimsical over time?" Bella asks.

[her_imperial_radiance]

Elspeth thinks. "I don't think so - not so I'd notice," she says. "But all the memories I have of her, even the ones that don't belong to me from before I was born, have her dealing with vampires. Maybe vampires are more... serious? Than whatever you've been doing?"

[self_composed]

"Or Alice is rubbing off on me."

[her_imperial_radiance]

"Aunt Alice, or someone else of the same name?" Elspeth inquires eagerly.

[prima_sequentem]

...Libby laughs.

[self_composed]

Bella blinks. "...Well, he's my boyfriend, if that answers your question. Is that also weird, that I have a boyfriend?"

[her_imperial_radiance]

"Not Aunt Alice," concludes Elspeth. "Of course you can have a boyfriend. You could even if a version of Dad were around, but without one it's not particularly strange to me."

[prima_sequentem]

"The correspondences between our worlds are so interesting," says Libby.

[her_imperial_radiance]

"Aren't they though?" Elspeth says brightly. "I don't know how long you can afford to be away from your empire, but it'd be fun if you came and visited."

"You'd have to check them first," Jake rumbles.

"Even a copy of Mama herself, you think?" Elspeth muses.

"Regardless," Jake confirms.

"I'm not even sure if that would work," Elspeth points out. "Bella, do you happen to have a mental opacity power? And if so, do I sound... truthy, to you?"

[self_composed]

"I have," says Bella, "and what do you mean by checking us, and what does truthy mean?"

[her_imperial_radiance]

"Well," Elspeth says, "does this sound interestingly different: I am five years old."

[self_composed]

"...Yes. That's freaky," says Bella.

[her_imperial_radiance]

"So I work on you. I used to work on Mama, but then I stopped," Elspeth says. "Anyway, my witch power boils down to communicating true things. I can sometimes generate true things I didn't technically already know, if I attempt to talk about them to people who are interested in the topic and I have enough to go on. Jacob here is really interested in whether I'm safe, so before I'm allowed to take anyone home, I have to check how dangerous they are by telling him whether they could even theoretically hurt me."

[self_composed]

"So, question," Bella says. "Who is Jacob, and why is he so interested in this, and why does he look at you like that?"

[her_imperial_radiance]

Elspeth hands Bella a pamphlet!

[self_composed]

Bella reads very fast.

"Oooookay," she says. "I take it your mama already vetted this and this would be an inappropriate time for me to come over all maternal."