Maryland Science Center, Baltimore, Wednesday Afternoon

[not_every_mage]

Anders knew dinosaurs and dragons were not the same thing.

For one thing, they were from completely different worlds. And for another, dinosaurs were actually extinct, not just biding their time high in the mountains. And Anders had never seen whole real dragon bones ... but there was a whole dinosaur skeleton rising up toward the ceiling here in the science museum, each tooth in its massive jaw bigger than his hand.

He gaped at it as he groped for Kathy's hand. There were plenty of non-dinosaur things to see in the museum, but it was going to take him a while to tear himself away from this one.

[OOC: For she who is there!]

Comments

[not_every_mage]

"They don't have Mabaris in Fandom," Anders answered, pressing his forehead against hers. "No other dogs could compare with their particular ... odor. And charm. It's a very smelly kind of charm. And since dogs were out, I turned to cats."

[spin_kick_snap]

It's probably the lack of mud," Kathy said sympathetically. "Without that thick, clingy, sticky mud you talk about, it's hard for dogs to work up that particular funk you clearly miss so much."

[not_every_mage]

“Especially since our mud is mixed with animal droppings,” Anders added. “That gives it that unforgettable tang that clings to my dreams.”

[spin_kick_snap]

"I'm sorry I don't love you enough to bring this dream to life," Kathy said, resting her hand on her heart in a show of sincerity. "Maybe sometime, we can take a trip out to a farm somewhere so you can live your olfactory best life. Maybe get some of that manual labor in you've been missing, too."

[not_every_mage]

"Actually, that'd be worth it just to see you and Dante try it," Anders said thoughtfully. "I doubt either of you have ever milked a cow or weeded a garden in your life. I could point and giggle."

[spin_kick_snap]

"Ha!" Kathy said, looking proud. "I have weeded a garden, so there!"

Pause. "In Korea."

Pause. "Once."

Pause. "I was seven."

[not_every_mage]

"One whole time, 15 years ago?" Anders checked. "I'm impressed. You'd have to give me lessons."

[spin_kick_snap]

"Hey now, fourteen years ago!" Kathy protested with a laugh. "I'm not yet twenty-one, stop trying to make me older!"

She considered it and then declared, "I'm sure I could still school you in the fine art of weeding, though."

Sure, Little Miss City Girl.

[not_every_mage]

"Right," Anders said, clearly unimpressed. "I did it ... almost every day every summer of my life until I was 12, but I'm sure you have all the details down from that one time."

He tilted his head to the side. "Though that does remind me to ask what you want for your birthday. It's not all that long from now."

[spin_kick_snap]

"I'm a fast learner," Kathy insisted, tossing her hair over her shoulder. "I'd weed that...row...so fast your head would spin."

That was the correct jargon, right? Sounded right.

"And...okay, asking the hard questions now," Kathy said. "All the things I can think of are, like...really big. Feel-jerky-for-asking big."

[not_every_mage]

"Try me," Anders said lightly. "I might say no, but I promise I won't think you're a jerk just for asking."

Though now he was more curious than he'd been when he asked.

[spin_kick_snap]

"Well, one of the things I want is a kotatsu," Kathy said, reaching for her phone again to show him what they were. "It's like a table and a heater had a baby and put a blanket over it. I just get so cold in the winter, you know?"

Yes Kathy. Anders was probably very aware of how cold your feet got once it got below fifty degrees.

"Ooh, I guess a lot of other stuff in that vein. Thick fuzzy socks, heavy slippers, flannel pajamas, and extra throw blankets are probably all good."

Stuff to keep her warm, since her primary heat sources were gonna be far away this winter.

[not_every_mage]

"Things to keep you warm on cold winter nights," Anders repeated. "I think I can manage that. And it's the opposite of jerky. I was ready for 'a pony and also a diamond tiara lined with mink.'"

[spin_kick_snap]

"I mean, that's also on my list," Kathy said with a nod. "Except I need two tiaras. One for me and one for the pony. You can't expect me to go around with a pony that's lacking in the proper accessories."

[not_every_mage]

"But does the pony's tiara have to be mink-lined?" Anders wondered. "I feel like ermine is probably fine for a pony."

[spin_kick_snap]

"Ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhh," Kathy said. "Fine. I suppose ermine is acceptable for the pony, if only barely."

[not_every_mage]

"I'll make it up to you," Anders said, reaching out to pat her hair. "You can have an extra prancey-pony so you don't mind its adequate tiara too much."

[spin_kick_snap]

"That's better," Kathy said, mollified. "A high-stepping pony in a mostly-matching tiara is definitely the other thing I want for my birthday. And everyone to call me Princess Kathy as I trot around the island on her."

[not_every_mage]

Anders burst out laughing. "That'd be the most adorable thing I have ever seen," he said. "And now I have to find a way to make it happen, even if it means borrowing a horse. Or stealing one."

[spin_kick_snap]

"Okay, I have no idea how you'd pull something like this off, but if you do, I will..." Kathy couldn't even come up with a good reward. "Do something epic. I don't even know what. Something, though."

Though hopefully he'd be willing to give her time to come up with it afterwards.

"To turn the tables on you, what do you want for Christmas?" Kathy asked.

[not_every_mage]

"... I hadn't even thought about it," Anders admitted. "I want to start massage school in the new year, but I don't know what you need for that. Oils? Towels?"

[spin_kick_snap]

"Massage school?" Kathy asked, tilting her head in curiosity. "Like, massage therapy?"

[not_every_mage]

Anders nodded, looking half-chagrined and half proud. "I know it's not exactly medical school," he explained. "But it'd let me help people without calling too much attention to the magic, and I wouldn't need a lot of extra school. I did some research and it made sense."

[spin_kick_snap]

"No, no, that makes sense," Kathy said thoughtfully. "You could do a little bit of healing at a time and people will just assume it's the benefits of the massage. You know, talk a lot about increasing blood flow to the affected areas and soothing inflamed tissues and muscles and all the while, you're just slowly healing people a little bit at a time."

[not_every_mage]

"Right," Anders nodded, sounding more sure about the idea. "It'd be perfect cover for a healer who isn't quite ready to shout it from the rooftops yet. I could study herbal medicine, too, and help that way. Maybe add a little elfroot when I can get it. And it'd give me a space to take anybody Dante ran into who needed more than a massage."