in which the narration is suggestive, yet vague

[subtly_artistic]

Neckrubs become a more regular part of Bella's life. And she does not tell him to stop until she is good and done. There is hugging. There is snuggling. There is kissing. There are some impressively sappy looks from his end, some fascinated mindreading from hers. The semester wraps up, Bella goes home for a week, and she comes back (now signed up for Utility Psionics 2, Intro to Mental Healing, Arcane Defense, Intro Cognition, and her survival credit, a lecture entitled "Wilderness Triage" (subtitled: Quick And Dirty Mechanisms For Identifying The Lesser Of Several Evils).

She missed Celo! She seeks him out at once. Hugs.

Comments

[mind_game]

"Sure, we can skip to that," says Jane cheerfully.

[Everybody ready?]

[pythbox]

[Sure thing! I wanna meet her Joker,] says Jellybean.

[mind_game]

Yoinking, one two three four!

[autokinetic]

"Hi!" grins Aegis. "Us three are Bells like you. That's a Joker. Me and Amariah have ones of our own at home too but they're not joining us today. Why can't yours come here?"

[subtly_artistic]

"He's a nymph, he'd get busted by Security," says Bella, putting down the partially-read Bellbook. "Nymphs don't wear clothes - is that going to be okay? My door leads to his dorm room, and he's in it."

[dark_light]

Amariah glances around at the Bells chosen for this landing party. "This is probably the best-chosen set of three Bells for not caring about a Joker being naked. Maybe Rose or Sarion, but I don't know how they generalize beyond their respective ones. Lead the way. I'm Amariah, my entry's one of the first so you know about me; that's Cam, he's the boy one; that's Aegis, she's Jane's mom; that's Jellybean, he's Cam's Joker."

[pythbox]

Jellybean gives Cam a demonstrative hug and Aether a friendly wave.

[subtly_artistic]

"And you're all okay to come through my door? I don't know when I'll get another."

[autokinetic]

"Oh, Jane does interdimensional travel!" says Aegis proudly. "We can pop in and out whenever."

[subtly_artistic]

"...Okay, great, let's go then," laughs Un-Nicknamed Bella.

She leads her alts and Jellybean to the door, opens it, leads them all through.

[pythbox]

"Hi, everybody!" says Celo from his blanket nest.

"You are super hot," says Jellybean.

"I know, right?" giggles Celo. "I love that skirt, did you make it yourself?"

Jellybean twirls. "You betcha!"

[lifes_sake]

"Did we somehow manage to not be the first alts you guys met?"

[subtly_artistic]

"Last semester Celo found the bar - it was on holiday, he was allowed to be naked - and we met Etty and Nona," says Bella, shutting the door. "Do you know them?"

[dark_light]

"Nope, not yet. You didn't go up to the bar, or was this due to time-screw-uppedness before the founding of the Belltower?"

[subtly_artistic]

"I went up to the bar. I guess you hadn't been there - 'yet'," shrugs Bella.

[pythbox]

"Or something was fucked up because of the holiday," Celo suggests idly, patting the nearest pillow. Jellybean sits on it and cuddles up to him.

"How'd you glamour your hair like that?" inquires the less clothed of the two, looking curiously at Aegis.

[autokinetic]

"It's not a glamour, it's my enchantress's aura!" says Aegis, grinning, hopping into the air, and twirling effortlessly. "If you do enough enchanting you get one. We all have them. They do different things. Amariah's makes her witchy and tells everybody not to touch Path, Cam's makes him all honest-looking, mine does - moving, basically, two different ways. I'm Aegis," she adds. "And there's ten more! Plus this one and - which was the Bell, Etty or Nona? And however many more we haven't found yet."

[subtly_artistic]

"Etty was the Bell. Nona was her - Joker, I guess - girlfriend. I guess I need a nickname?"

[lifes_sake]

"Yep," says Cam. "I'm lucky, I got to keep my regular nickname because I'm the only boy one so far."

[pythbox]

"That is lucky," says Celo, looking up at him with a speculative smile.

[lifes_sake]

"You should've seen the look on my face when I found out there were eight more of Jellybean. And now there are more than that within peal reach," snorts Cam when he observes this smile.

[autokinetic]

"Depends how you count if eight was even the right word," laughs Aegis.

[subtly_artistic]

"Besides you three and Etty what are the other nicknames?"

[dark_light]

"Stella, Shell Bell, Golden, Angela, Juliet, Pattern, Rose, Sarion, Aurora, Glass."

[subtly_artistic]

"...I think I'll take Aether."