Fuck Andre for making him worry.

Jochy tried to wrap his head around what he was doing again, but his mind just went back to Spider. It wasn't as if they were close, but he'd always liked her, she was one of those people he immediately felt at ease with. Straightforward. He'd like to think they might have been friends, but he'd probably screw that up along the way.

It was funny and ironic that every time trouble struck, he was elsewhere. It didn't matter if it was in the Erins or on the mainland, he was always stuck far away. At least it felt that way. Bloody machines and their teleporting.

He spat, took a deep breath, and tried to wrap warmth around himself once more. it was a basic trick, controlling the temperature around his skin, but suddenly it felt like balancing a blade on a finger. One wrong move and things could go very wrong indeed.

She couldn't hide her amusement, watching Jochy practise on her frequent passes through the dooryard. She wasn't much surprised, either. He had his favourite toy back. Like a child in his Commons just come into his glams, sooner or later it would settle into its normal place in life and cease to fascinate. But one couldn't play always.

She slipped up to him. "Come on, come inside now. It'll still be there after dinner, I promise."

Yes, Jochy was high strung enough to actually jump when she spoke, leading to a brief smoldering of heat that almost made his shirt catch fire. He quickly suppressed it though, looking a bit sheepish. "Sorry about that. Just trying to work out the kinks, it's completely out of balance compared to what it used to be. Just wouldn't want to accidentally mess something up again." He still felt guilty about the door.

"You won't get it all the first day, but you will get dizzy if you don't eat," Morgana said briskly. "You're not burning away from nothing, you know."

"I know..." Jochy rubbed his stomach, giving her an easy grin. "Is starving now that yer mention it, it's just still so... awesome!" It was hard to hide his enthusiasm, the pain had been worth it, he didn't feel like half a man anymore. All it would take was practice.

"I so owe you for this, regardless of what you say." He'd hug her if he hought he could get away with it.

Morgana laughed along with him. "Consider it a debt so vast that you'll ne'er be able to repay it and don't bother with it. And as soon as you're settled we need to get you and your lady back to Cnoch-na-Niall."

"Or the mainland." Jochy's expression darkened. "Got word a few hours ago that a friend of mine was in trouble, but can't do much about it when I'm stuck here." He scratched his neck a little. "I'm still hoping that the people we know back in Mercer will be able to get us back the same way we arrived in the Erins. So in case we disappear suddenly, it's nothing to be concerned with."

Morgana's face turned into a small frown. "So far as I know, there's nothing can get on and off my land withoutten I grant it, which means that if someone calls for you some other way, you'll have to go o'er the wards before they can take you. What's happened? It's not Seth, is it?"

"That's good to know, though I wouldn't be sure when it comes to this. It ain't exactly magic, it's technology. I've never seen anything quite like it before, and I don't think most other people have either. The bloke that invented it is dead, and people are left trying to piece things together." He shook his head in awe.

"And it ain't Seth. It's Spider, one of Jude's crew that has got herself possessed. And since that's a little something I know a bit about, her husband tried to contact me."

"Ah." She held out her palms. "I know not. Magic, tekology--I've found nothing that breaks it, but it will be good to know if something can. I could figure out a way to correct for it if need be." Her hands went down. "Do you need any help with your friend?"