“Just jumping right in.It comes from the skin of my tentacles.The tissue can extrude it on command.”
“Like a hagfish?”
He laughed.“Exactly.”
“Okay.I see why the suit would be in the way.Does it smell?”
“No.Well, there is an oceanic scent.Nothing horrible, or so I have been told.”
“I am guessing they were just polite.”
He laughed.“Perhaps.I don’t usually transform to heal females.”
“Don’t worry.My heat isn’t for another few months.”
“You still go into heat?”
“Yes.Once a year, like clockwork.”
“What is it like?”
“Annoying.I read something once, so I put it into bottles and save them for later.”
“You...bottle your heats?”
“Yes.A woman named Kay taught me.Yes, I know who she is now, but I didn’t know then, but she wrote out the instructions and gave them to me.”
“How do you do it?”
“Uh, I would have to show you.I had to alter my technique to suit my magic.It isn’t the same as yours.”
“How so?”
“Yours comes from long lines of descent.Mine comes from the ground under my feet.The same as the other mages.We are bound to our world.We are the antibody to the new rise in magic.”
“That is...holy hells.I have to talk to the archive, but I think it has only happened on two other worlds we have colonized.On one, intermarriage developed the red djinn who can take down dragons.”
“Oh.Nice.Wait.Sern has red hair.Is he...”
“His mother is half red djinn.”
“Oh.Neat.”
“Were you at the wedding?”
“No.I have protected the event space with small rocks embedded in the walls.Everything goes smoothly and far faster than they have a reason to.”She chuckled.“No nasty in-laws, no psycho brides, no food allergies that weren’t declared.All the things Jennika, Sable, and Ivy have been mentioning.”
He chuckled.“They can go sideways.Each house has its own traditions.”
“I am guessing yours involves singing crabs and fish playing instruments?”
He snorted.“I hate that movie.”
She laughed, and it was a harsh sound with a bright note.“I am going to be muttering it over my workspace later.My dancing isn’t great, but it keeps my joints from stiffening.”
“So you have found ways around it.No magic to help you?”
“My magic doesn’t work on me.Sable is still Sable, no matter what form she chooses.Jennika’s fire doesn’t burn her.So...yeah.No.”
