Innovations and Ideas

Two hours of some rather mundane internet discoveries it was time to eat. Andreas prepared the late lunch, also known as early dinner, or just a spaghetti. They were both hungry, so they ate in silence, not playing with food or interrupting the meal for an idle chit chat.

After they were done, Voigt showed Sally how the washing machine works. She kept a keen eye and was putting an effort to remember everything. He then moved on to other appliances. The electric kettle, the fridge settings, the microwave... He left out oven and the rest of the kitchen things for later, out of safety concerns. Instead they moved to the rest of the house.

Andreas was walking energetically, without cane, only rarely limping. Sally observed his movements, making sure that the medicine she produced didn't have any unexpected side effects. Human biology was different than the Lamias, but she took the base of the pill from his things, so - she thought - it should be alright.

He showed her a vacuum cleaner, where to toss out the garbage, told her the fact that at night all she needs to do is to clap twice to turn on the lights at the stairs, and many other things, even how get movies to play in the cinema room. At the end of it, she really felt that she moved on from the inconvenient guest to a roommate status. And considering the papers he signed earlier that day, that was a fact stated by law.

But... Did she want more than that? Sally knew that roommates would evolve into friends, it was just the natural order of things. Well, either that or hating each others guts, but - even after a rough start - things were looking good. They listened to each other, and Andreas no longer seemed like he wanted her out of the house. And it's been only one day with this man.

Who knew, maybe, just maybe, he could be the right man for her.

It was a thought previously inconceivable for Sally. Her past, her background made her never consider any romantic relationships. Sex used to be just a way to unwind for someone of her status in the old world, but ever since moving here, she kept hearing about monster girls that kept falling for their sponsors. Sally didn't think it would happen to her, she held herself to a higher standard...

But maybe she was wrong.

Maybe this bitter, suffering man was her future.

In the evening, she found him in the cinema room.

"Hey, do you have time?"

Andreas turned his head away from a United against City game. The former was getting absolutely pummelled by the latter, so he didn't mind the interruption.

"I might. What's going on?" He asked.

"There is a matter of that tracking spell we should deal with. And I think we should deal with it sooner than later." She slid inside and sat on the two chairs next to him.

Andreas bit his lip. Somehow he completely forgot about that. Well, maybe not forgot, it was just his rational mind rejecting the idea again that something like magic even exists.

But before he could even respond, Sally asked another question.

"Is that, how do you call it, soccer?"

She pointed at the screen. One of the United defenders was doing a terrible job of making sure a ball doesn't go past him in that moment.

"You are technically right. But practically, it's just a shit show... Okay, what do we need to get rid of that... Spell?"

He asked quickly, before she could drill further into his beloved sport.

"I have everything ready. I'll just need you to come with me. And take a towel."

Andreas shrugged. They moved on to his room, and he picked up what she wanted him to.

"See, I was thinking what's the best way to get rid of that spell without alerting the caster." She started talking when they were in the corridor up stairs. "I could easily dispell it, of course, but that would have a worse effect than a spell itself. They would instantly know about it. And it would also tell the other side that there is a... Magic practitioner in here. I think it's better to make that a surprise, if we will have any unwelcome guests in the future."

Andreas leaned against the wall and listened to her words, at least trying to take it all seriously, despite how ridiculous all of it seemed to be.

"That means we need to pass the spell into something else."

"Like what?" He asked.

Sally heard that his voice was calm and collected and smiled a little. All was going according to her plan.

"Like running water. The spell itself will dissipate slowly and that elven woman will be none the wiser."

Andreas looked her in the eyes.

"So I can just wash my hands with you doing some stuff and that's it?"

Sally answered with an awkward smile.

"It's not that simple. I'm afraid that to remove the spell, we will have to... You know..." She didn't know how to say it straight to his face, so she was pointing at the doors across the hallway.

"Just... Tell me." He sighed.

"We'll have to take a bath together!"