doors are complicated

[campanas]

Pen' was just going to go practice singing. (She likes singing. The words are all lined up for her already and she doesn't get them wrong.) But this doesn't look like the practice room. So it's probably the magic restaurant.

Pen knows about the magic restaurant! You can go in it, and get food or things to drink (she has bracelets!) and then you just go back out the door and it's been no time at all and you're right where you went in.

She goes in. She is going to have cake.

Comments

[campanas]

Pen crosses out the misspellings and underlines the correct version. She resumes trying to remember Joker names.

[manofmyword]

"What's the deal with Mister Naked?"

[campanas]

"He from Jane-breaker place. Some not-mortal kind, no clothes. He magic black box thing Jellybean put though so is okay."

[manofmyword]

He giggles.

[campanas]

"Dragon and mostly animal souls and sometime Brilliance when not mortal shape, them too. Always this one you though. He a funny real name. All sunshiney. Don't remember nickname."

[manofmyword]

"Sunshiney?"

[campanas]

"Is not a sound name. Is... feeling-name. With sunshine!"

[manofmyword]

"Huh," he says thoughtfully.

[campanas]

"I not say it, though, can't. Elspeth can! And his one Mommy."

[manofmyword]

"Who's this Elspeth, then?"

[campanas]

"She cousinoid. Golden's one. Her daddy not a daddy one, somebody else, I not met him."

[manofmyword]

"So a cousinoid is somebody who's got one parent that's one of yours, but not both?" he guesses.

[campanas]

"Yeah. Glass got three small princesses, they cousinoids too."

[manofmyword]

"And the one of me who calls himself the Joker already has kids too. Who with?"

[campanas]

"Vampire. Name was - um - oh, yeah, is Nathan. Almost like Uncle Nathaniel, different template though."

[manofmyword]

"And who's Uncle Nathaniel?"

[campanas]

"Daddy's brother. Except, he stuck Aurum - is Elspeth's world! - when Jane breaked. For years. Got back home couple weeks ago. I not know him too much. Dars and Kez maybe do more."

[manofmyword]

"So people getting stuck in worlds is something that happens once in a while?"

[campanas]

"If they wrong place when Jane break. I not think she broke now, though. Mommies fixed her. Is door won't working. Jane not here at all."

[manofmyword]

"But," he says, "seems like you're stuck anyway."

[campanas]

"Yeah. Uncle Nathaniel gone a long time. He find a girlfriend while he gone though!"

[manofmyword]

"Did he? Good for him!"

[campanas]

"Mommy made a moon they live at now."

[manofmyword]

"Really?"

[campanas]

"Or put stuff on moon? Moon might be there before that. Dunno."