Ohhhh. So she should pay him. She's got, like, five bucks on her. They use dollars here, right?

Her dad deals with a lot of criminals. . Doesn't he have a job, though? Not that she's complaining... But shouldn't he be at work or something?

Well, too late now! Her dad can arrest him if he turns out to be a serial killer or something later. Anyway, she's going to-! Walk. Straight out of the village.

This is probably the part where someone mentions stranger danger.

She was just going to see if a portal was open so she could get home...

Ugh! Fine.

She can literally control water? She's fine!

It's nothing she hasn't dealt with before. Sure, it would be easier with her friends here, but she can still handle a lot.

She should be fine. She can handle it.

I kinda miss my dad...

Isn't that why he bought her food?

Well it's not like she can actually go. She doesn't have the Heart of Kandrakar. Unless a portal is open somewhere? 🤔

Oh boy! Time to go on a deadly mission!

What's this about teams?

Oh that's nothing! Try accidentally turning a boy into a frog!

🤢 Cedric will always be ew.

Yeah? What other kind of weird stuff happens?

Huffing and crossing her arms. "I'm old enough! I can handle myself!" Why is everyone worried about her age all of a sudden?

"It can happen! I've met plenty of weird people like that!"

(Wait, she was right???) So you guys don't have pizza and you're actually a guy named Gai? This place is just getting weirdo by the moment.

"What? No! I was talking about throwing hands or being some weird person who collects them!"

(What a strange guy. She's just gonna walk forward...) I'm Irma, by the way. Irma Lair.

Yeah, I guess. It can't hurt.

"I feel like that could have been worded differently."

Magic be magic.

So what? Right about...? (She's landing a bit away. That way she can transform back without raising too much suspicion. Looks like he's walking the rest of the way.)

Really? I thought that was Mount Rushmore in the distancs. . Hey... So no one is going to try to shoot me down or anything, right?

This is not helping his "not a dog" case. "So is it like canine instincts that help or?" Much soft. She's enamored. Like a puppy.

If only. He just tries harder. Do you see your village yet?

It's not that. He's... Well, I like him as a friend. But he's super embarrassing! And he just doesn't get that I don't like like him! He 𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘨 over the intercom. At school. It was horrible.

She's immediately petting his arm. Because this is normal. She's really more amazed than she should be. "That's amazing! This is fur coats levels of soft!"

I mean, it's not so bad. Remember the astral drop? That's when those come in handy! Though I'm still mad that mine made me go on a date with 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘯.

//Irma, you can't just ask to touch people's fur??? What's wrong with you?

Sure, if you think visiting a magic amulet can do anything. Or visit the magical version of heaven.

"I'm old enough." Her hands are pressed, fingers tapping. The urge is growing. A lot. And she's lost. "Can I touch it? Your fur."

I guess no one. The Heart of Kandrakar chose us. I mean, the Oracle will tell us if there's stuff we need to worry about... But that's just how it is.

Yeah, no. This would definitely be weird. She's dealt with enough magical species to not give in to her urges. "Your fur is nice. Looks soft." Nailed it.

That's funny! There was this one time my friends and I had to fight this evil prince who literally sucked the energy out of the everything. Even tried to absorb his sister. I'm thirteen. Why?

Squint. This feels wrong. Like? He looks like a dog? But he's clearly not a *dog*? Would she be species-ist if she scritched?

//wait until he finds out how much pressure is put on the shoulders of 5 children :)

Not really? I'm human. It's more like I was one of the ones chosen to be a superhero for a whole dimension. Except there's five of us. (Flying forward. This is normal.) Except the entire dimension has bad guys that either want to take your powers or kill you.

It's kind of a long story. Which direction did you want to go? Anyway, I can do magic and transform because I'm a guardian. So can some people from Metaworld but they're not guardians.

Yeah, I don't know where that is. So how about you point in a direction and we see if it works? (Transforming and picking him up by his arm pits. And up they fly!)

That literally sounds deadly. Anyway, what direction do you need to go?

The what???

N... No. Just flavor wise, really.

It's really good food.

. . . . This is horrible.

. Pizza? The best food ever created??

👀 If he shows her where the nearest pizza place is, she can totally fly him where he needs to go.