horrible cold

[warmfeelings]

Chelsa buries herself in her friends, and the warmth of the world that Harley isn't on anymore. She doesn't understand him. She never will. But there's Corona, sun-scorching and intense; there's Amdon, her oldest and closest; there's Anneia, sweet and smiling; there's Sandre, cuddly and fun; there's Tima, pretty-kindling and empathetic; there's Pacco, bright and deferent; there's Jony, hot as a kiln; Lionara hot as molten glass. And Aelise herself, who makes so many compromises but who does love Chelsa after all.

Harley wasn't like that one cold, cold girl, who - she wasn't even technically a sociopath. Sociopaths kindle like everyone else. She was just - cold. Like an airless environment in which no fire can burn.

But Aelise had her killed, and Chelsa made sure no one would miss her, and if anything like that ever happened again, Chelsa has every confidence that Aelise would make it right. Harley's one thing. He can just be - out of sight, out of mind. Aelise would never expect Chelsa to compromise on the existence of such a terrible cold.

Comments

[alicornucopia]

"By it being miles away," suggests Mehitabel.

[queensidecastle]

"'Miles away' isn't as much of a barrier as it sounds like, up here."

[alicornucopia]

"Because of the train," Mehitabel surmises.

[queensidecastle]

"Yep!"

[alicornucopia]

"Okay. Why is the other secret a secret?"

[queensidecastle]

[alicornucopia]

Mehitabel sighs.

[queensidecastle]

"It's not nice to do that," says Kers.

[alicornucopia]

"I want to know things," says Mehitabel.

[queensidecastle]

"I said it's not nice to do that," says Kers. "I didn't say don't. But remember that every time you ask me to tell you something that we both know you're not supposed to know yet, I get a little bit more suspicious about all the other questions you might ask me and whether or not you're supposed to have the answers."

[alicornucopia]

Mehitabel considers this thoughtfully. It seems an eminently reasonable sort of statement to her, so after a while, she nods.

[queensidecastle]

Kers smiles.

[alicornucopia]

Mehitabel continues inspecting rooms, and she chooses one, and puts her sole souvenir from home on the bookshelf.

[queensidecastle]

"Check out the computer," Kers advises.

[alicornucopia]

Mehitabel follows this suggestion.

[queensidecastle]

It is a pretty excellent computer!

[alicornucopia]

Mehitabel sets about fixing all the preferences how she likes them. "Aelise said you might be good at helping me pick out books to read so I can learn all the things I have to know to figure out how to fix the world," she says.

[queensidecastle]

"I might!" she agrees.

[alicornucopia]

"I need to know how Gifts work and why people have wars and stuff," Mehitabel says.

[queensidecastle]

"Right to the hard stuff, huh," laughs Kers. "I'll queue up some history."

[alicornucopia]

"Thank you!"

[queensidecastle]

"History and science."

[alicornucopia]

Mehitabel nods. "How come you live up here?" she asks.

[queensidecastle]

"Because nobody thinks there is anyone living up here, which makes it a good place to hide. And the reason why I'm hiding is because I have a Gift," she says. "I'm a shield. A very, very powerful shield. So I keep my Gift covering all the people Aelise most wants protected, and I hide, because I can't cover myself."

[alicornucopia]

"I cover myself," says Mehitabel. "How do you do other people?"