shiny new world

[mrsparkle]

Sadde's running.

Not for any particular reason, just because it's faster. He's been meaning to go to one of the capitals for a bit and now, he supposes, is as good a time as any.

And eventually he's not running anymore, because he's close enough to civilisation that someone might spot him. Not that he wouldn't be able to notice them by scent before they saw him, but still. And as he makes his way to the Norway capital at this more leisurely pace, he notices the tiny, shiny key. He walks towards it and picks it up and immediately notices just how magic it is. He can tell by the way the key feels like things, and different things depending on where it is.

He verifies that what the key feels like is consistent in absolute location by waving it around a bit and seeing that the same place always feels the same. "Huh," he murmurs to himself.

He straightens up and thinks. The first obvious thing to try is seeing whether it opens any doors - a universal skeleton key sounds like the kind of thing a magical key could be - but the second obvious thing can be tested right there and then. He pushes the key into thin air with some purpose, as if he wanted to unlock an invisible door, and then turns it, et voilà, the faintest of door-shaped outlines appears before him.

He locks the door, and it disappears. Unlocks it again, and there it is. So he pulls it open and sees-

Comments

[from_scratch]

"Oh. I'm Revelation."

[mssparkle]

"...I just had this sudden very strong urge to kiss you. Of course you're awesome."

[from_scratch]

"Thank you. But this was a hundred fifty years ago and I wasn't quite anonymous enough and some asshole shot me in the head, so."

[mssparkle]

"Ouch. I'm sorry."

[from_scratch]

Shrug. "Long time ago."

[mssparkle]

"Yeah. And, one hundred and fifty years, erm. That sounds kinda boring."

[from_scratch]

"I mean, I haven't been literally sitting on my tail re-watching Atriama the entire time, but that was definitely the highlight."

[mssparkle]

"We should fix that. We should definitely fix that. I wonder how many tries I'd need to open a door to your world, we could get you to terraform Mars. Or maybe find a way to mine and bring standards of living to 2159's, I'm sure the Empress Regnant wouldn't mind. Also I wonder if I could summon other daeva from here, not being a demon but not being a human either."

[from_scratch]

"...I'm listening."

[mssparkle]

"To which part, I said three things that I think could pique your interest."

[from_scratch]

"And they have all done so. Although the early twenty-first century probably needs me and is less likely to shoot random people trying to get rid of me than current Mars. Where I'd actually really like to go if we're on general flights of fancy is Limbo. It's flat earth and one thing per person and that's it. And I could see my parents."

[mssparkle]

"Well, they're not general flights of fancy, we have a purpose here."

[from_scratch]

"Just one?"

[mssparkle]

"Fixing everything ever," she clarifies.

[from_scratch]

"Oh, that one. Well, we could go see what there is past the swimming pool one but we don't know how long it'll stand open. I'd like to be a little conservative with excursions until we know that."

[mssparkle]

"When I said 'huge fall' I meant that the door opened into thin air a few thousand feet above the ground."

[from_scratch]

Cam blinks at her, then waves a wing.

[mssparkle]

"Right, but I can't fly. Yet. Unless you can carry me. Which, yes, please. But I'd very much prefer to wait until we know how long the portal lasts."

[from_scratch]

"I miiiight be able to carry you in the air. Not sure. But yeah, definitely find out how long it lasts."

[mssparkle]

"In the meantime, though, we could figure out if those two spots on your wall obviously open to the same place or something."

[from_scratch]

"Sure." He hands her the key.

[mssparkle]

She tests that the two spots still feel the same - they do - and presses the key into the one on the right. It goes through the wall as if it weren't there, and the shimmering door appears. She creates a second door on the other spot - it's shaped differently, a bit larger - and then opens both. One of them leads underground, and the other about twelve feet above the surface of a desert. "If it's the same world, it's definitely not the same place in that world."

[from_scratch]

"No obvious way to check."

[mssparkle]

"Not until we know how long the doors last, no. I could try seeing if I can summon daeva here? Or we could have sex."

[from_scratch]

"Definitely not both at once. I'm not on terms quite like that with any angels or fairies."