so there was this deck of cards, right

[lexicality]

Jessica's house is cute. Lexi could see doing a lot of her homework here, listening to the calming chatter of gossip and getting help from Jessica on math (Bella's no help there) and helping Jessica on English. Forks isn't so bad. She doesn't mind the rain as much as Bella does.

Jessica goes to pee before they even start their assignment, after just introducing Lexi to her mom and dad as "one of Chief Swan's kids", and Lexi doesn't want to do work by herself or she wouldn't have come over in the first place. She sits on the couch and plunks her bag down and waits. There's a random deck of cards over there; she picks it up and flips through it. She's been trying to learn to bridge-shuffle.

Comments

[cardistry]

"It's different," he says. "I get a lot of extra information when I'm, uh, dude-shaped. Staff form is kind of halfway in between - I get the finer details on my magical senses, but not the complex tactile stuff."

[incanted]

"You seem to prefer the deck of cards for just sitting around in," Bella observes.

[cardistry]

"Deck of cards is easier to fit places, easier to hide as, and it doesn't get uncomfortable," he says. "And I can't directly use most of my big destructive spells like this, so for a while there I stayed this way as much as I possibly could, just to keep that extra step in there."

[incanted]

"Solid plan, I approve," says Bella. She peers at her question list; it's dwindling and he said he'd stay overnight. "...Hey, um, is there any lingering damage from most of you getting blasted like twelve times? You sound fine, but you're being all deck-of-cards shaped, so I don't really know how to tell. I don't even know if I'd be able to tell if you were being dude-shaped, maybe you don't have automatic body language or anything."

[cardistry]

"Nope, I'm fine," he says cheerfully. "I mean, it hurt, but magical damage is good like that, it can hurt and knock you out and you'll be fine in ten minutes."

[incanted]

"I... guess that's convenient? I'm sorry it hurt."

[cardistry]

"It's fine," he says cheerfully, "I've had way worse."

[incanted]

"...Ah. Yeah."

[cardistry]

"And, you know... thanks."

[incanted]

"You're welcome," Bella says.

[cardistry]

He shifts a little on the table.

[incanted]

"Does that mean anything when you slide around like that? Or - wiggle or whatever?" Bella asks.

[cardistry]

"...maybe. I dunno. It doesn't mean a specific same thing every time."

[incanted]

"Should I be interpreting that last little shift as anything?"

[cardistry]

"I'm - kinda nervous," he admits.

[incanted]

"What about?"

[cardistry]

"I just - I get lonely, and I don't want to be, but I'm afraid of people, and I don't think I want to go but I'm afraid to stay, and really I'm kind of a mess," he says.

[incanted]

"I'm not going to hurt you," Bella volunteers after a silence.

[cardistry]

"Well, that's good," he says. "I even believe you. I'm just not sure I believe that I believe you."

[incanted]

"...I'm not sure if that makes any sense," says Bella.

[cardistry]

"I don't think you're going to hurt me," he attempts to explain, "not on purpose anyway, but the way I feel when I think about sticking around is still the way I'd feel if I wasn't sure."

[incanted]

"Hmm." Bella leans back in her chair. "I'm pretty good at picking apart my own feelings but I don't know if I'd be any help with yours."

[cardistry]

"...Dunno what I think of that," says Brilliance.

[incanted]

She shrugs. "It's nothing spooky, I just write about what I'm thinking in a notebook and then it's all laid out to look at, not so slippery. If you want to turn into something that can write and borrow a notebook you can do that, but I don't think it usually accomplishes anything for people who aren't me for some reason."

[cardistry]

"Yeah, doesn't sound like my game," says Brilliance. "I don't know... if I did stick around, I mean for a while, if I wanted to be - partners, what would that be like?"