lung, meet rewind

[msrewind]

She gets the note just before lunch. She's in the PHQ in less than twenty minutes, then she knocks on Piggot's door politely.

Comments

[thinkering]

Giggle.

[mrglam]

"We should throw a party for having captured him."

[thinkering]

"I'd like to schedule it for after he's no longer in our custody and it's not our fault if he gets out."

[mrglam]

"Vvvvery good idea, but fortunately he doesn't have an Empire Eighty-Eight to rescue him."

[thinkering]

"I'd still rather not assume he's totally without a contingency."

[mrglam]

"Yeah, of course, and in any case it's not like musings about humiliating him will change anything."

[thinkering]

"Indeed not." Yawn. "I think I'm crashing. G'night."

[mrglam]

"Good night, love. Sleep well."

[thinkering]

She squeezes his hand and goes to meet up with her dad and bounce home.

[mrglam]

Sadde's birthday is a couple of weeks later.

[alicornucopia]

Director Piggot would like to see him.

[mrglam]

...alright. He floats over there, wearing the floaty parts of his costume.

[alicornucopia]

"Hello, Sadde," smiles Director Piggot. "I'm sure you've heard that as an identity protection measure the Wards sometimes retain a member past their eighteenth birthday, so that it's not trivial to narrow down the possibilities via date of birth."

[mrglam]

Oh. Oh! That. "Yes, ma'am."

[alicornucopia]

"In your case they will be retaining you for five months, two weeks." She hands him a sticky note. "Your graduation date, if you wish to put it into your calendar. It will make it easier for you and Lorica to continue coordinating your powers as you have. Happy birthday."

[mrglam]

He takes the sticky note. Right. Just so they can say they're not keeping him the literal maximum amount of time they can. "Thank you," he says anyway. "Was that, ah, everything?"

[alicornucopia]

"That's all. Have a good birthday, Sadde."

[mrglam]

"Thank you, ma'am."

Yeah, okay, he's not really planning on leaving the Protectorate anymore anyway. He floats back over to his room.

[thinkering]

A while later, his shoulderbot says, "You should go to Lorica's workshop."

[mrglam]

"Ooh, should I?" he asks, putting his book down and conjuring his costume to do just that.

[thinkering]

"Yes," confirms the shoulderbot.

[mrglam]

So he floats over to her workshop.

[thinkering]

And in it is Lorica with a four-inch chocolate cake, becandled, and a present. "Happy birthday!"

[mrglam]

"Aww! Thank you, my love," he says, floating over to her to kiss her and accept the present.

[thinkering]

The present is a book!

"It's a translation of a pirated Chinese cape science book."