Laurel hums a song to herself as she walks through the desert sands, holding a palm-sized carved stone with an LCD screen embedded within. It's only half the size of her phone, but weighs quite a bit more. She could use scoria instead of basalt to lower the weight, but it's usually ignored due to the porosity... Actually, in this case, being full of holes might increase the effectiveness, assuming she compensated for background levels.

  Now that she thinks about it, wouldn't coral qualify? It's also porous, and intriguingly, the product of a living creature. That may have uses for finding living magical creatures, assuming the coral retained some of coral's innate energy. Worth experimenting with.

  "Hey, Willow, remind me about coral."

  "What about it?"

  "I'm not sure, yet. Please?"

  Willow huffs, but continues slogging under the sun, licking her dry lips. "Fine. This hike sucks, you know."

  "It's not too hot out. I think it's October, right?"

  Willow subtly glances at her phone. "Well, duh. Are you sure your doohickey is working?"

  "Doohickey? This is an inter-disciplinary masterwork, and I'm quite proud of it."

  "Doohickey."

  Laurel suspects that Willow is trying to goad her into a long explanation. She doesn't need the encouragement, though.

  "It's a hybrid of object enchantment, lithomancy, tech-magic, and normal engineering. I'm using the liquid crystal in the LCD as a low-grade gemstone, which is in turn acting as a siphon for mana. The basalt housing is important here. Since it's inert, it acts as a valve to keep the LCD from overloading from a very powerful magic source. What's cool is that I can tell the relative power of the magic source by how bright the light the screen is. That means it's entirely analog, without even needing a backlight!"

  Willow blinks, which Laurel takes as a sign to swoop back into her explanation.

  "I know what you're thinking. How can you tell the difference between a strong source that's far away or a weak source that's close? Easy. I have the LCD attuned horizontally as well, and it measures how uniform the-"

  Willow rests a hand on Laurel's shoulder. "Okay. I'm very proud of you, but I didn't understand a word past 'siphon.' Dumb it down?"

  Laurel remains in front of Willow as the two walk across the sand, but her bright red ears imply her face looks much the same. "Sorry," Laurel half-heartedly says. "It detects magic. The screen shows a vertical line. The brighter it is, the stronger the magic. The line also shifts to the right the closer you get to the source it's detecting. Works up to three fourths of a mile."

  "...it's a magic detector. You know you can just buy them, right?"

  Laurel laughs, and says, "Sure, but most are a lot less precise, don't have the range, and can't tell you how far away the source is."

  "Uh-huh."

  Laurel turns around and walks backwards, gesturing wildly as she speaks. "Not to mention, the other ones rely entirely on fundamental lithomantic properties. It's just a gem that lights up in the presence of magic. All it does is amplify the mana picked up by the gem, since it works more like an amplifier than a siphon. That means it can't detect very low levels, risks a mana recursion if the source is particularly strong, and they lose potency over time."

  "Uh-huh."

  "Did I mention you can calibrate my version? If you're somewhere with a high level of latent magic, you-"

  "Laurel."

  "Don't interrupt," she cooly responds. "You-"

  "Laurel."

  She stops in place at Willow's stern tone. "What? I'm not finished explaining."

  "Just hold on for a second. Was this approved by Shankar?"

  "Huh? I'm not planning on selling it."

  Willow runs a hand down her face, unintentionally streaking sweat down to her chin. "You're supposed to get approval before working with magic in any form. You know that, right?"

  Vale turns around, and drops her eyes back to the detector. "It's not dangerous."

  "That doesn't matter to Counter-Magic, and you know it. Laurel, we've been over this. Stick to what you're specifically allowed to enchant."

  "You're not my parole officer," Vale mutters.

  "I'm not, but you do have one. You're dancing on the edge of Magimax as it is, why take the risk?"

  "Hold that thought, we're here." Vale bends down, and examines a patch of dry brush, running her fingers across the brittle surface. With a smile, she reaches in and breaks off a single small flower located deep in the thorny scrub. "Got it."

  Willow grabs the neck of her top and fans herself as Vale displays her prize. "What the hell is that? You said we were here for petrified wood."

  "We are," Vale says, "but my detector suggested something else was around here. This is a form of aglaophotis. Are you familiar?"

  A long pause flounders between the two before Willow speaks. "You're starting to worry me..."

  Vale passively twirls the red flower's stem, watching it intently. "Aglaophotis is incredibly rare flower that manifests in a bunch of ways. This form is a parasitic bloom that can grow on pretty much any plant, and has a lot of uses."

  "What uses?"

  "Okay... look, it's mostly used in occultism, but there are legal uses for it. It can be used as an ingredient in a few powerful alchemical recipes, though most people who find one of these wouldn't waste it on that. It's associated with summoning and warding, though in more of a... well, the spell I'm thinking of uses a seal instead of a circle. It's not quite occult, just follows some of the same principles."

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  "Give it to me."

  Vale looks over at Willow in confusion. "Huh?"

  "Give me the flower."

  Vale stands up, and scrunches her eyebrows together. "I know what you're thinking, but this isn't really occultism. If I make a proper demonic shielding seal from it, I could start the use of sulfuric-"

  Willow stomps up to Laurel, fists balled and teeth bared. This has gone too far already. "What the hell is wrong with you?! You've been acting flippant with me for days, and you've been pushing against the very generous rules you have for your parole! Have you completely forgotten what landed you in prison in the first place? You're on incredibly thin ice as it is, and you're willing to gamble it on a fucking flower?!"

  The occultist bites her lower lip, and rests her eyes on the plucked bulb. "It isn't that big a deal."

  "Yes, it is! I know you're obsessive about magic once your mind gets going, and I know that you're on edge with the store opening in a couple days. I can live with that. What I can't accept is your tunnel vision destroying your absurdly good streak of luck. Our streak of luck. If you want to dive headfirst onto the slippery slope of technicallys and not-reallys, then fine, but I'm not coming along for the descent. Please, Laurel. I don't want to lose you, and I can't pull you out of hell a second time."

  Laurel's eyes climb from the ground and eventually to Willow's face, and is struck with the obvious amount of fear Willow is pushing through.

  In an achingly slow motion, Laurel holds her hand out, the flower delicately cradled between her fingers. "I... got lost in the excitement. Thanks."

  With a gentle hand, Willow takes the flower from her, and pockets it. "You're welcome. I'm sorry for shouting at you."

  Laurel reaches out for Willow, and ensnares her in a close hug. "You did the right thing. Okay, I do also need petrified wood, and my source of it is only a mile or so away."

  "God damn it," Willow says with a half-smile. "Guess it's back to sweating our asses off. At least I get to look at you from behind some more..."

  Vale is shivering despite the warm building when she opens the door for Shankar. A bad sign, he thinks.

  He wordlessly nods at her, stepping inside and scanning the formerly empty space. Vale and Willow have been busy the last couple of weeks, that's for certain. The shop is a little sparse, as is to be expected, but the display cases are all set up and new rugs were laid across the floor. It looks ready to open, in his estimation. Right on schedule.

  Vale guides him to the completely unadorned back room, where a cup of herbal tea is already waiting for the parole officer.

  It's been about a month since Vale was released again, and it's admittedly concerning that she's calling him instead of waiting a few days for his weekly update. He doesn't know the specifics of why he's here, but hopefully it isn't anything dangerous.

  Shankar sits down, and sniffs the tea, detecting a distinct note of orange peel. His favorite. How thoughtful that she remembered.

  The occultist takes a seat across from him, while her deeply twisted grimace distracts him from the hot drink. This must be important.

  "Thank you for the tea, Vale," Shankar says with a reassuring smile. "What's the situation? You were vague about it on the phone."

  Vales quietly runs a hand up and down her arm, and mumbles something he didn't quite catch.

  "Could you repeat that?" he asks.

  "I... I made a mistake," Vale says, a little louder.

  Shankar freezes. "Please, continue," he says. Hopefully Vale won't notice the faintest wavering in his voice.

  "I was thinking about item enchantment, and I realized I needed a magic detector. There aren't many places to get one, and I didn't want to wait for delivery out of Sapphire Valley, so I... well, here."

  She produces a carefully carved rock with an LCD neatly embedded within. Magic detectors are little glowing rocks, and this is clearly not one.

  "What does it actually do?" Shankar asks, his attention bouncing between the device and Vale.

  "It's genuinely a magic detector. It has some other features, though. You can calibrate it, tare it, that kind of thing."

  "Uh-huh..." He picks up the heavy stone, and turns it over in his hands a few times. It reacts immediately, and the LCD displays a single vertical line that moves horizontally, glowing and dimming as he points it around the room. "And you made this without approval from Counter-Magic?"

  Laurel closes her eyes, and faintly nods.

  He stifles a frown. It's expected for parolees to make a few mistakes, but she looks absolutely mortified by a fairly low-level infraction. "You do understand that you're going to be running a magic shop, right?"

  "Yes, but-"

  Shankar holds up a hand, silencing Vale immediately. "I'm not thrilled by the fact you used magic without clearing it with me, but I'm not particularly concerned, either. You needed a magic detector to do your job, and you made a magic detector. Thank you for your honesty with this, and don't make anything else that's unapproved without at least calling me first. As for the magic detector we have here, send me the diagram. I'll expedite its approval."

  "I... I'm sorry. And thank you. I'll get that to you right away, sir."

  Shankar smiles, silently relieved that this was the reason Vale called him out here. "I want you to succeed, Vale, I really do, but I need to ask you a question. Why didn't you get approval in the first place?"

  Vale anxiously rubs her arm. "I, uhh... I got swept up with the store opening, and kind of... got carried away."

  "Carried away?"

  "Yeah. I've sought out a unified theory of magic for so long that I've started seeing different disciplines as interlocking pieces, rather than separate fields, and from there I decided that the detector was just an extension of what I was already doing. I needed Willow to bring me back down to Earth... Oh, speaking of, I have something for you. I found an aglaophotis." She reaches for a small ring box on the table, and offers it to her parole officer.

  Shankar takes a moment for his brain to catch up with the conversation. Vale found an aglaophotis? There must be something twisted in Vale's brain for her to consider one of the most potently magical plants in the world as an afterthought.

  Shankar takes the box, gripping it tightly. "Why give it to me?"

  "Also Willow's suggestion. I don't really trust myself with it, sir."

  "Alright. Could you send Willow in, next? I'd like to have a quick chat."

  Willow strides into the room, watching Shankar slowly sip a cup of tea. Laurel was crying when she told Willow to see Shankar, but Willow couldn't tell why.

  He gestures at the open seat. "Sit, Sergeant Valley. This won't take long."

  Willow takes a seat and a breath simultaneously, and speaks the instant she's settled into the folding chair. "Sir, I'm deeply apologetic for my failure here. Don't blame Laurel for this, it was my fault, as I'm responsible for-"

  "Settle down. No one's in trouble here."

  Willow tightens her lips. "I didn't expect to hear that."

  "It's a fairly minor infraction, and it's pretty clear that Vale's not taking the parole lightly. The fact she reported it herself is a very good sign. I'd like to ask you a favor, though."

  "Of course, sir."

  Shankar leans in, his voice quiet. "Keep it up. I can tell how much respect she has for you, and you're a good influence on her."

  "Sir, her actions aren't-"

  "Come on. Don't be afraid to come to me with things like this. I'm not a hardass, and people screw up sometimes. You have to have noticed by now just how gifted Laurel is, and she can do some real good if she doesn't slip back into her old ways. Frankly, making a single magic item for personal use without explicit approval after making a hundred others the proper way shows she's not flaunting the rules willy-nilly. Just reinforce the good behavior, hmm?"

  "...I don't understand, sir. She's not under my authority."

  He takes another long sip of tea. "Compliments and praise from her girlfriend would go a long way."

  "She's not my girlfriend... I don't think. We haven't labelled anything."

  Shankar rolls his eyes. "Sure. I'll see you soon, Valley."

  Shankar steps into an office for yet another meeting. This time, it's with Lt. Colonel Krastev, off on a Counter-Magic base in the desert that's an annoying distance away. The parole officer salutes, which Krastev responds to with a quick, "At ease."

  Shankar takes a seat, and smiles widely. "What's the word?"

  "I'll keep it brief. The schematics Vale submitted for that fancy magic detector she made are incredibly robust. It's complicated as all hell, but we have a team or two who could reproduce it."

  "Good to know. I assume that means she's staying in your good graces?"

  Krastev leans back in his seat. "She was never on my bad side to begin with. The schematics are just a way to keep a certain someone off her back by proving her value. No need to tell her that we're blatantly stealing her ideas, remember."

  "Wouldn't dream of it, sir. She's otherwise been a model parolee, and I'd hate to make her dislike us even more."

  Krastev adjusts his glasses slightly, the green shimmer in his lenses catching the light. "I'm growing fond of her, too, Shankar. Keep reporting all future infractions to me, first. Last thing we need is for an asset as valuable as Vale to be drawn and quartered because of someone's personal grudge, or worse, her own stupidity."