universal star visitor brilliant start!

[incanted]

Eventually Bella and Lexi go to bed - they have to coordinate this; Bella's a reasonably sound sleeper but Lexi's not, so if Bella goes to sleep first Lexi won't be able to drop off with all the random nouns and if Bella goes to sleep second Lexi will wake up when she's trying to sneak around. They get up, and they get ready for school.

+Morning, Brilliance,+ says Bella while she's brushing her teeth.

Comments

[cardistry]

+Wonder if there's a spell for that,+ he says musingly.

[incanted]

+Good question. I should see about inventing one. Trouble is I don't actually know what's wrong with me, it seems to be a case of the "just super clumsy".+

[cardistry]

+Well, so a healing spell might not fix it, but... I dunno... something that makes walking more like flying, I feel like there's room for experimentation there. Maybe we can try it when we go hang out on the sand planet.+

[incanted]

+Sure. Just half an hour to go.+ Stretch-arch-hold-breathe. +I won't miss yoga, it's boring.+

[cardistry]

+What even is it, I am hazy on some of the things you bio-people do with your bodies,+ snorts Brilliance.

[incanted]

+It's this family of postures and exercises you're supposed to combine with mindful breathing to accomplish - something. Flexibility, I guess, though there's a lot of spiritual woo wrapped up in it too.+

[cardistry]

+That does sound boring. But then, maybe breathing is more exciting when you have to do it all the time.+

[incanted]

+No. No it is not.+

[cardistry]

Brilliance cracks up.

[incanted]

+Like, there is a reason we are wired to ignore it unless there's something unusual going on. There is a reason we can do it in our sleep.+

[cardistry]

Yep, still snickering.

[incanted]

+So you're not even biological enough to breathe when you're dude-shaped?+

[cardistry]

+I can breathe, I'm pretty sure I can even eat food, but it took me a while to figure out that humans don't just do it when they need the air for something. Or - you know what I mean. And I'm not totally sure I get the point of eating.+

[incanted]

+You're pretty sure you can eat food, you haven't tried it? 'Cause unlike breathing that one has recreational applications.+

[cardistry]

+Yeah, never really got the chance,+ he says. +Maybe I should take Dude Form for a test-drive sometime soon.+

[incanted]

+Sure, we can stop at home before going to Colorful Sand Planet, you can have an apple or something to try.+

[cardistry]

+Cool,+ he says cheerfully.

[incanted]

Eventually gym class concludes, and Bella drives home alone because Lexi's going to try the "go to Jessica's" plan again, and she lets herself in the house and takes Brilliance out of her pocket and puts him on a kitchen chair.

[cardistry]

The deck shimmers; the shimmer becomes a glow, which expands abruptly into the fiery silhouette of a human figure, then fades.

"Oh, cool," says Brilliance, tipping his head back and stretching out his arms. "I forgot how fun it was just being this shape."

He is wearing a skintight black bodysuit that ends just above elbow and knee, with white trim that resembles the designs on the deck of cards he was just being.

[incanted]

"Are you as trivially adjustable like so as you are when you're a deck of cards?" inquires Bella curiously, tossing him an apple from the fruit bowl and grabbing one for herself. She bites hers.

[cardistry]

"I can adjust the clothes," he says, grinning a little as he catches the apple. "So can you, actually. Why, got something you wanna see me in?"

[incanted]

"Not really, just curious if you picked it or if it came with you-ness."

[cardistry]

"Okay," he says, and shrugs, and attempts to make the apple interact with his face.

[incanted]

"...You bite it," Bella says helpfully, and she demonstrates again.

[cardistry]

"I'm trying!" he laughs. "It's harder than it looks!"

But no, no, he's getting it.

...

He closes his eyes and hugs the apple-minus-a-bite against his chest and wriggles blissfully.