who will be coming?

[small_magics]

Aianon has made a plant in the open airless space above the surface of Thilanushinyel. It is a very, very large plant - some dragons will be attending the party, after all, even if Ansharil in particular is going to be assorted small things and stay on Sarion's person the bulk of the time.

The locals will be Sarion, her beloveds, their other beloved, the five conjured dragons (and their Bondmates, where applicable: Virgivere and Lissa), and Liselen - Magania has, as usual, declined, and so far no Bell party has featured Bell parents.

Amariah is bringing her boyfriend and spontaneous daughter and two of the spontaneous daughter's friends, as well as an Alethian instance of the Rupert template.

Shell Bell is bringing Pearl and Screwdriver.

Golden is bringing her usual large contingent, as usual not including her husband but including her daughter and daughter's grown fosterling (the other remaining at home) and his wolf, both mothers-in-law and one father-in-law, adopted siblings, staff members including the Joker and Nathan, and the children of the aforementioned.

Glass is bringing both wives, all three daughters, Kanim, and her cat. She invited Icarin and Valeria, but their parents are not willing to let them gallivant into other worlds unsupervised and had a scheduling conflict.

Stella's bringing a smattering of people including Alice, Anna, Sandy, Libby, Bridget, her college roommate Janine, and Lazarus.

Tab is bringing Aelise (but not Kers) and Luhan.

Etty is bringing only Nona.

Aether, likewise, brings no one but Celo.

Pattern comes with Ripper, Slipstick, Queenie, and Ghosty.

Aegis is accompanied by her four-bodied boyfriend, Merryweather, Whitlock, and Howlett.

Aurora comes with Brilliance, Lexi with her Device Persica, Agent Honey with her Device Adularia, and Beth.

Rose brings her husband and three children and her former apprentice, Luc.

Angela brings her husband, her four children, several of her friends, and some of those friends' children and grandchildren with and without wings. Keziah also brings a friend.

Juliet shows up with Soph, Minus, Red, Giles, James, Virginia, Minnie, Ike, and Val.

Cam brings Jellybean and Tilly and stops there.

And from unBelled worlds hail additional Sherlocks and Tonies, Darcy, Matilda, Pepper, and Eights.

Comments

[withmypowers]

"Self-sufficiency," says Matilda.

"Intelligence," says Tilly.

Agent Honey just smiles.

[self_composed]

"So you're not asexual? Because Glass has been trying to pin down what purples and greens have in common besides looking purple or green to her metacausality-sight and one thing that keeps turning up in purples is bisexuality, but reportedly you're purple."

[withmypowers]

"...Has someone been theorizing that we're asexual before it came up just now?" wonders Tilly.

[subtly_artistic]

"I was suspending judgment, given you're all single and asking Celo would be hypocritical."

[withmypowers]

The Matildas exchange glances, or maybe just one glance passed back and forth between the three of them.

"If there's a purple pattern for experiencing attraction to multiple genders, we don't break it," says Matilda.

[autokinetic]

"I wonder if the ones of you who are books do the same thing," giggles Aegis.

[withmypowers]

"You're welcome to ask one," says Tilly.

[autokinetic]

"Pffff."

[withmypowers]

Time passes.

Rose is the first Bell in this batch to be wordlessly un-levitated.

[beheld_beauty]

"How are my magical properties?"

[withmypowers]

"Handling, storage, and generation on the low end," says Matilda, "but high for a Bell. Medium-high entanglement, medium-high perception."

"About in the middle between Juliet and Glass," says Agent Honey.

[beheld_beauty]

"I wonder what causes the different results. You can't tell?"

[withmypowers]

"There's theories at home," says Matilda, "but I don't think they apply very well to the situation at hand. You're really unlikely to vary that widely in relevant personality factors, for example."

[beheld_beauty]

Rose laughs a little. "Yes, rather. Maybe when we've all got as much of this magic as we're going to something will make itself obvious."

[withmypowers]

"Maybe!" she says agreeably. "Or maybe Glass will get something."

[beheld_beauty]

Rose nods. She swaps her book for one on Wellspring magic. When Tab leans in her direction, she waves it to within Tab's aura range momentarily and then goes back to reading it.

[withmypowers]

The next Bell to be lowered is Amariah.

[dark_light]

"Huh," says Amariah. "Glass-Rose-me isn't an obvious lineup of any characterstic."

[withmypowers]

"You've got about the same properties as Rose," says Tilly, "but your perception is a little higher and your entanglement a little lower. It's not a big difference; a less sensitive reading might not even pick up on it."

[dark_light]

"Huh," says Path.

[withmypowers]

The Matildas shrug.

Next is Sarion, a few minutes later. "Same category as the other two," says Agent Honey, "but with slightly lower perception and noticeably higher entanglement."

[small_magics]

"Of the three of us, Amariah's native magic is the one that affords the most advantages in detecting magic," observes Sarion thoughtfully.

[dark_light]

"What would explain your better entanglement? If my information's in-date between elfmagery and enchantment even you prefer the latter for most things, and you and Rose were about the same age when you got your respective things."

[beheld_beauty]

"It's hard to say."

[withmypowers]

"We'd have to Wellspring a lot more witches and elfmages and native enchanters before we could say that your native magic system has an effect," says Matilda. "Although it's an interesting idea and very plausible."