Day 54

[periphrasing]

[Usually when Peridot speaks up on the network, she's pretty perky and authoritative. NOT THIS TIME. HAHA.]

Ssssso... I don't want to cause a panic or anything, but there's not exactly an easy way for me to break this news to everyone, so I'm just going to come right out and say it:

I may have kind of, sort of... absolutely found proof in the Scribe's collections that the Summer Court is tracking us. And by the Summer Court, I mean specifically the Rose Queen and Ignatius and all their cronies from Portland are tracking us. And they know we have the Blue Rose.

....

Sorry.

...This is Peridot, by the way.

-----

[Mingle and threadjack as you please!]

Comments

[osteothropy]

[Sans stopped being so adventurous with experimentation a long time ago.]

If you want, you can always petition the Ringmaster to try again. Dunno if she'll go for it, but... maybe it is worth a shot. What do I know.

[kingsroads]

[ There's a paaaaause before Strange shakes his head, then realizes you can't see that on the radio, then makes a little noise of disapproval. ]

I know my limitations. I'll be much more effective when we get the Mirror. [ not if, when. ] I'll ask her then.

[osteothropy]

[If anything, you just made him way more doubtful, buddy.]

...Strange.

We don't even know what the hell that thing is.

[kingsroads]

It's a mirror.

[ duh, Sans. ]

[osteothropy]

[??? Strange.]

Uh huh. And...?

tl;dr it matters b/c ego

[kingsroads]

And that means my magic would naturally line up more with that than with plants! I can manipulate nature, but scrying, traveling, that sort of magic which I'm best at all uses reflections. It's not too hard to assume that I'd be able to use the Mirror easier than most, and that's before getting into the part where my eyes are literal mirrors and my body scabs mirrors whenever I am injured. Plus, my reflection magic is growing more than my nature magic. I just pieced out this spell which involves a reflection, I haven't worked out any new nature magic in ages.

[ just cut him off, otherwise he will ramble and justify himself for an eternity. ]

[osteothropy]

Ok. Gunna stop you there.

Think back. What did Steven's magic have in common with the Blue Rose?

[kingsroads]

Plants?

[ but what does that—oh wait, never mind, Strange sees where this is going. ]

Syrlya is a literal plant and yet he was able to wield the Rose with only minor changes. It's possible the reason the Rose changed Steven so much is because of his faeblood status—and need I remind you, I'm not faeblooded.

[osteothropy]

Sure. But the fact is we don't know that. You're working off a hypothesis.

But my hypothesis is that having an affinity for mirrors might just make you more of a target.

[kingsroads]

There's only one way to prove who's hypothesis is right.

[ and that way is do the dumb thing. ]

[osteothropy]

I take it back.

Maybe you shouldn't try looking at the Rose again.

[kingsroads]

Then it's a good thing for me you aren't the one in charge of the Rose.

[osteothropy]

...Sure.

But I am in charge of protecting the carnival.

From outside and inside threats.

[You wanna go, punk?]

[kingsroads]

[ now it's Strange's turn to be like ??? ]

I know what your job is.

[osteothropy]

....

[look]

I'm implying that you're an inside threat. So, you know, you better watch it. That's what you should be taking away from this.

[kingsroads]

[ the problem here is that Strange can't really find much that Sans might interpret as 'vaguely threatening'. ]

Oh good Lord, is this in response to the 'you're not in charge of the Rose' thing? That's objective fact! You just said I need to petition the Ringmaster if I want to examine it! And if this is about the Mirror, I can't put any of my plans in action until we leave the library and get the damn thing! How are either of those threatening?

[ this conversation is getting intensely dumb and Strange is getting intensely frustrated. ]

[osteothropy]

You really don't hear any of the things you say, do ya?

[Sans hasn't got it in him to be frustrated, so much as faintly bewildered. But he's not so much threatened as stubborn against the idea of someone trying to go over his head.]

[kingsroads]

[ and now Strange is even more frustrated because yes! Of course he hears what he's saying! What the hell point is Sans trying to make? ]

This conversation is going nowhere.