Room 524: Friday late afternoon [8-31-12]

[walkswithcoyote]

Mercy was sitting on her bed, googling remote control cars and making notes about size and battery length. She'd fired off an email to Charles with a couple of questions and had been surprised at the speed with which he'd replied. This whole project definitely was doable.


[Door and post open. Expecting a borrower, but anyone is welcome.]

Comments

[notalender]

"Could we get all three, then? The red one, too?"

Man, if Spiller could see her now. . . . He'd have a fit of jealousy.

[walkswithcoyote]

"Sure," Mercy said easily. "Why not?"

She clicked through a few screens, checking boxes and filling in information.

"Okay, they're on the way here. They should arrive middle of next week, if all goes well."

[notalender]

"Computers are amazing," Arietty decided. "I wish they made these in doll sizes, too."

[walkswithcoyote]

Mercy considered that. "Some of the smartphones are pretty small. You might be able to use one of them like a computer."

[notalender]

"James had a phone. It was taller than me, when he unfolded it."

[walkswithcoyote]

Mercy nodded. "I bet. There are some that are just about your size or a little smaller. You wouldn't be able to carry it around easily, but you could probably use it like a computer - use a q-tip end or something to use it."

[notalender]

"Where do I get one? Is it on the computer, too?"

[walkswithcoyote]

"You can," Mercy explained. "Or you can get one at a store."

[notalender]

". . . Not the one where I got Eggletina," Arietty guessed. "Kenzi took me there. I haven't gotten the chance to explore many of the others, yet."

[walkswithcoyote]

"That was a pet store," Mercy explained. "All the stores sell different things."

[notalender]

"Makes sense. Do beans often keep rats as pets?"

[walkswithcoyote]

"Sometimes," Mercy said. "A lot of, um, beans, are bothered by them, but some do keep them as pets. Cats or dogs or even mice and gerbils are more common."

[notalender]

"Mice are okay, but they're really skittish. Cats are just mean." Well, they were when you were the perfect size for "playing" with.

[walkswithcoyote]

"Depends on the cat, I'd guess, but at you size I wouldn't want to take the chance personally," Mercy agreed.

[notalender]

"They've vicious killers," Arietty asserted. ". . . Though not creepier than the gremlins."

[walkswithcoyote]

"Oh wow, I hadn't even thought," Mercy said, looking horrified. "How do you keep yourself safe from them?"

[notalender]

"They're not too hard to avoid. They're mostly focused on you beans."

[walkswithcoyote]

"I've been lucky enough to avoid them myself," Mercy admitted. She could smell them coming.

[notalender]

"I thought they weren't too bad for beans? They just make you act funny for a bit."

[walkswithcoyote]

"I'm... not fond of being out of control," Mercy admitted. That was an understatement.

"I'd rather avoid them if at all possible."

[notalender]

Arietty nodded. "That makes sense. For a borrower, though, they could bite me in two."

[walkswithcoyote]

"I can see that," Mercy said. "How do you protect yourself from them?"

[notalender]

"Running away, mostly. And making sure they don't see me. I can usually tell when I'm about to be seen."

[walkswithcoyote]

Probably a useful adaptation, Mercy thought, being able to know when you were going to be seen.

"Makes sense. Maybe a loud whistle or something might help too."

[notalender]

"Wouldn't that just let them know where I am?"

[walkswithcoyote]

"I was thinking more if one was coming at you, you could blow it, maybe hurt it's ears?"

[notalender]

"Does that work?" Arietty tilted her head. "Does it work on mean beans, too?"

[walkswithcoyote]

"It might if you blew it loud enough," Mercy said musingly. "Or at least startle them and alert others that something was happening."