A Weapon’s Serenade

Tiny complained. Isha was looking weird and Tiny didn’t approve.

“I’m pink!” The former siren giggled.

“You are. You make for a really cute human.” Melody let her eyes wander.

“You think Serena will approve?”

“Absolutely. Do you want to keep the dress for now or try trousers?”

Isha tilted her head in thought. “I’m not sure but I think I should try those eventually. Why not now?”

Getting dressed was a bit finnicky but Isha managed it and was now proudly presenting her new look, a proper human disguise with a tank top and jeans, to her friends.

Tiny still wasn’t sure about Isha’s new look, so it was time to take a good sniff and make sure Isha knew that even if she decided to look all wonky, Tiny still liked her. And thus, Tiny took the initiative to rub against Isha’s legs.

“See? Tiny approves. At least somewhat.” Melody smiled.

Isha reached down to pet Tiny. “I’m sorry I’m all human today, we want to go exploring and I would attract too much attention otherwise. Maybe you can join us and make sure nothing bad happens.”

Tiny approved of that. Those kids needed supervision.

“I mean…” Serena eyed Isha. “You will attract some attention. You look so good. No idea why slim jeans stopped being in style, they are just the best... as you clearly prove.”

“This isn’t usual human clothing?”

“Oh no, it is. It’s just that preferences in how tightly fitting clothes are change from year to year. The way you are dressed right now just shows people that you know what you like and what looks good on you.”

“I see. That seems like a good thing.”

“It is. So, with the entire city for you to explore, do you have anything specific you want to see?”

Isha nodded. “A few things, actually. I want to see the place you study at, places humans get their clothes and furniture, places that offer old stuff and lots of human food.”

“The university, clothing stores, furniture stores, antiquities stores and all the food. Sounds like a plan.”

Anne spoke up. “And maybe the stationary store too. Need to lay a bit of groundwork of how we keep records to show how we learn.”

Isha nodded eagerly. “Yes please! I am very open to suggestions, just show me everything you think would be interesting.”

“We would be busy for days.”

“That’s fine too, we can do this more often, look at different stuff every time.”

“We should, yea.”

Hawthorne’s Stationary had been here for a long time. Old Archibald Hawthorne, who ran the store today, inherited it from his father many decades ago. His father had inherited it from his father and so forth. Archibald would pass on this store to his own son and this wonderful little store would keep supplying students, scholars and anyone who just wanted a nice pen or just a little notebook.

“Mister Hawthorne?” Isha smiled at the old man.

“Yes, my dear?”

“I could use your help. I have a strange request, I am honestly a little embarrassed about it.”

“Nonsense, there is nothing you could ask for that would be embarrassing. Let’s hear what you need.”

“I have… uhm… never written with a pen before.”

“But you can write?”

“Yea, I can. I know, it’s strange. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry, there are so many wonderfully strange people in this city, you will be just fine. You want me to show you a good pen and how to write with it?”

“Yes, please.”

“Very well, come.” Hawthorne gestured for Isha to follow him to a nook in the back of the store where he kept the more expensive writing utensils and a nice table with paper to try them out.

The old man dug around the shelves and drawers, grumbling about some details before presenting Isha with a small but well curated selection of pens.

“Do you know anything about pens?”

“Not really, no.”

Hawthorne nodded knowingly. “That is alright, I am happy to show you all the things. You see, most people write with ink and pens are just the way to put ink onto paper. This is a ballpoint pen, it has a little ball at the tip that rolls out the ink. This is a fountain pen, which uses this little split metal thing we call a nib to let the ink flow in a controlled manner. The last type here is a lead pencil, it doesn’t use actual lead anymore, these days it uses a carbon core to rub a mark onto the paper.”

“I think I understand. Ink pens need time to dry, don’t they?”

“A very short time, but technically yes.”

“And pencils don’t. But if the material isn’t properly sticking to the paper, you can still smudge it.”

“Some people smudge it intentionally, it’s good for making art.”

“That is awesome. Making art like that will be something I want to try eventually, but for now I just want to start writing.”

“Good, good. Try this one then, very basic but reliable ballpoint pen. Press the button at the top, then hold it like this.” Hawthorne demonstrated with a different pen. “Then you gently put the tip on the paper and guide it along. No need to force anything, just let it glide.”

Isha followed the instructions and just drew small circles on the paper. “Oh, this feels lovely. So smooth, I almost expect to need a little more force, like I would have to convince the ball to do its thing.”

“On a cheap pen you would need to convince it to work. The kids these days are so often used to crap pens and just drag them across the paper like they’re trying to scratch cuneiform into granite.” He scoffed and stamped his cane playfully. “You seem to appreciate the fine art of writing, young lady.”

“I don’t know if I do but I certainly want to. Just holding the pen makes it feel like a delicate instrument even if I am sure it is reasonably sturdy. I have a bit of experience making precision tools and know that you treat them like the most fragile thing you ever touched even if it can take a beating. Being gentle gets you the best results.”

Hawthorne nodded. “Precisely. You know more about writing well without ever having written a thing than most who grew up with it. Would you like to try a fountain pen next?”

“Oh yes, please.”

“Same thing as before, eh, I don’t need to tell you that. This ink is just less viscous, it smudges easier until it’s dry.”

“I see.” Isha once again drew little circles. “Oh.”

“You sound surprised.”

“I am. This is very… smooth seems to be the wrong word. It just flows on its own, I don’t even need to guide it as much and when it stops it pools the ink a little. I like this a lot.”

“So, fountain pens are the thing for you?”

“Seems so.” Isha smiled.

“Good, but this is not where the journey of picking your pen ends. Every type of fountain pen has a unique weight distribution, length, grip shape, there are even differently shaped nibs you can pick from.”

“I will need your guidance then.”

Hawthorne smiled. “And you will have it. Give me a moment.” He started digging around the shelves again.

On the other side of the store, Anne chuckled and nudged Melody. “Looks like Isha got hooked.”

Melody glanced over at the disguised Isha trying out more pens. “I’m really happy she is finding things for herself.”

“Yea, it’s great. I suppose that’s also why she wanted to go to clothing stores and look at furniture.”

“Makes sense, yes. It’s such an amazing but also scary thing. Moving to a different world… in an even crazier way than we will.”

“Maybe she can help us in a few years, I am really not sure what I even want from a home. Having every option available is paralysing.”

“Yea, same. It’s almost easier to suggest stuff to someone else than to decide for your own.”

“Absolutely.” Anne nodded. “Joro asked me to help with Isha’s home, maybe that will give me some ideas.”

“I sure hope so. You know what? We should really visit more human museums, especially for design stuff. I am sure there are furniture and interior design museums somewhere.”

“That’s a really good plan. We should take Isha there too.”

“I will see about finding a few of those museums and then we can plan for another nice weekend trip.”