AA: I don't remember him that well but I'd really want to see him again
LA: Well, sure, but it's not like we're going anywhere. And my aunt would probably just lay into me for messing around doing hero quests instead of helping everyone move to Skaia, so I'm planning to wait until they've settled in and they won't have as much work to make me do.
AA: You don't want to help them?
LA: Nah, I've spent my whole life doing chores and astrology for them. I feel like I've earned a break. You've never had to take care of a sick chicken, I can tell, even if you don't remember.
AA: But they're your friends and neighbors aren't they
LA: They're my family, which is kind of different. They act like just because I was born I have to do whatever work they tell me.
AA: I don't know
AA: I don't think I'll ever be able to take it for granted again, having people who want me around
AA: Or even just anyone to talk to
LA: How have you been doing out there? Any progress on your Empty powers?
AA: Kinda
AA: I have a better handle on the loops at least
AA: That was really scary when it just started happening, I think I might have left it too long dealing with it
LA: What happened?
AA: Have you ever had that thing where you'll wake up and then realize you're still asleep and you have to wake up again
LA: No but that sounds bad.
AA: And I can't even blame it on being half asleep, I'd think I was totally lucid and then realize I'd been experiencing the same couple seconds over and over again
AA: The space loops got even more claustrophobic because I could see them all around me
LA: By the Ineffable Name.
LA: How did you stop it?
AA: The closest I can come up with for what it was like is tensioning silk as you're winding it onto a bobbin
AA: I never really did a lot of spinning but we all had to learn in school, I remember that clearly for some reason
LA: Why would everyone have to learn spinning?
AA: You know in health class so we knew how to take good care of our spinnerets and stuff like that
LA: Oh, right. Sometimes I forget you're not human.
AA: Yeah sometimes I forget you're not mydian too haha
AA: Anyway it was like I was winding it too tightly without thinking about it and I had to redo it and wind it looser
AA: Then I could relax enough to let it go all the way so things would go normally
AA: Though I also think being in the Furthest Ring made it worse, it's kind of especially susceptible to time-space manipulation because neither of those work consistently here
LA: I'm so glad I'm never going to have to go there.
AA: Yeah I don't like it
AA: Oh! But weirdly enough something actually happened since the last time we talked
LA: Aside from learning to unloop space-time.
AA: That was awhile ago
AA: For a little while I actually had an internet signal
LA: Can you remind me what that is?
AA: Uhhh
AA: Mostly the important part is that my computer has a little icon that says if it's picking up a signal that carries information
LA: Like a "message received" flag.
AA: Yeah like that
AA: So I went to open my browser and see if it was actually working but I couldn't access any regular sites, just this page with a picture of a lock that said INCOMPATIBLE ORIGIN. NEW DEVICE REQUIRED.
LA: Huh. What do you think it means?
AA: I really really have no idea