among her own kind

[she_sells_seashells]

Shell Bell finds Milliways once when she is eighteen. She has been there for two days now, setting up her sign ten minutes out of every waking hour, wiping down tables for her quarters in the staff area, eating buttery potatoes (she has been told that this is a complete nutrient package, for humans). Her wand is holding a bun of hair in place on the back of her head. Her shells are stashed safely in her room; she's budgeting carefully and she'll pay her tab when she leaves.

No one's talked to her due to the sign yet. They don't always. She sets it up anyway, like clockwork, so everyone gets the chance.

Comments

[sicaria]

"Bell has expressed a tentative interest in helping me overthrow the Capitol," says Sherlock.

[ferratus]

"Gotcha," says Tony. His friendliness doesn't exactly vanish, but it is definitely serious time now.

[she_sells_seashells]

"But there's not enough to work with yet. I have a stick, and I don't think it's Capitol-overthrowing material, although it could be part of a plan to accomplish same," says Bella, leading them back over to her booth and sitting them down. She flattens her sign to the table so it won't be visible from across the room. "We need more stuff. Tech they don't have, magic nobody has."

[ferratus]

"We can have all the tech we want if I can figure out somewhere to put it," says Tony. "Our house doesn't have the tools to manufacture anything big, and the places that do are watched closely enough that even if they couldn't catch me lifting the merchandise, they could catch me covering my tracks. Plus transport is a problem. Less of one now that we've got the bar, but still, problem."

[she_sells_seashells]

"What about little things?" Bell asks. "How are you at miniaturization?"

[ferratus]

"Pretty fucking good."

[she_sells_seashells]

"I don't think there's a reason to prefer big stuff. Does your house get searched regularly or anything?"

[ferratus]

"Nope," he says with great confidence. "And I'd know."

[she_sells_seashells]

"There you go. Build tiny things in the basement." Bell closes her eyes. "I know - very little about how technology works. I've learned a lot here, but it's all scattered from a thousand universes. I don't know what the state of the art actually is in Panem. Because they don't tell us. Because we don't need to know it to operate boats. What kinds of tiny things could you make in the basement?"

[ferratus]

"...Limited kinds," he admits. "Like I said, I don't have the tools. I can make tiny things that will blow up much bigger things. I can make tiny communication devices. I can make... I don't know, what do we need me to make?"

[she_sells_seashells]

"Communication devices and blowing-up things are good," Bell says. "We can start there. Can you make blowing-up things that can put themselves where they're told?" Pause. "Especially if free of the engineering constraint of having to make them blow themselves up without an outside source of ignition, because... I have a stick. And what kinds of tools do you need? If you're serious about this you should both set up consultancies in the bar like mine and see what you can trade for or buy."

[ferratus]

Tony glances down at the sign.

Then he says: "...Stick?"

[she_sells_seashells]

"Yes. A stick."

Bella sighs. In for a clamshell, in for a cowrie.

She pulls the stick out of her hair, and makes a wee flicker of flame appear at the tip.

"It has some serious range. I'd have to be within a few blocks and know something about where to aim, but I could set off an explosive with this, if it's the kind that explodes when on fire."

[ferratus]

"Nice stick," says Tony.

[she_sells_seashells]

"I like my stick. You can't have it. It took practice to make it do what I want and I'm lucky I live near the ocean."

[ferratus]

"Hey, you can keep your stick," he says, raising his hands placatingly. "I wouldn't dream of touching your stick."

[sicaria]

Sherlock snorts.

[she_sells_seashells]

The flame goes away. Shell Bell puts her hair up with it once more. "If it were easier to use, it might make sense to a certain sort of mind to put it in the hands of someone with more freedom of movement than I have," she says. "But it's not. Anyway. Self-deploying explodey things? Yes or no?"

[ferratus]

"Easily if I had the right stuff," he says. "Not a chance if I don't. Right now I don't."

[she_sells_seashells]

"What stuff?" Bell asks, predictably.

[ferratus]

"Depends what kind of self-deploying I want," he says. "Do we want flying or scuttling? Scuttling's easier, I could probably scrape that together without worrying anybody, but it's more limited. Flying means propulsion systems, which usually means some kind of fuel, which means controlled substances that I can't actually get from Bar and I know this because I've tried."

[she_sells_seashells]

"You can't use, I dunno, booze as fuel? Because she does booze," Bell says. "Flying's better because it won't leave tracks but scuttling could work."

[ferratus]

"Flying can leave tracks, too, and sometimes they're a lot clearer," says Tony. "No way alcohol is an efficient enough fuel. I could probably... hmm, there are options. What do we blow up, anyway?"

[she_sells_seashells]

"I don't know yet. A map would help. Knowing more about the Capitol's inner workings would help. It's possible directly burning things down is a better idea anyway."

[ferratus]

"I can get you a map," Tony says easily.