Chapter 10 - It is tired
Chapter 10 - It is tired
“Morning, Thia. Bad night’s sleep?”
“It attended the banquet of an afterlife not to be named and presided over the Arbitration of Terms for all beings within.”
“Yup, sounds tiring alright. Do you want to take the day off school? Dad can lie and say that you're out sick.”
“It refuses.”
“Oh ho? Is my little Thia actually looking forward to going to school? Dad's so proud of you.”
“It's Terms compel It to go to School every school day until graduation.”
“Well, if you say so. Dad's just glad that you're finally warming up.”
“It is not. The thermostat maintains the temperature of the house at a general constant.”
“Except the toilet.”
“It confirms. The toilet is preternaturally cold.”
“Anyway, that’s cute but not the point.” It’s summoner pulled up a chair. “Thia, warming up is more of... a figure of speech kind of thing. It means that you’re becoming more accepting of something.”
“It does not understand the relationship between temperature and acceptance.”
"...Uh... do you remember what Amy said?”
“It remembers every word spoken by Amy.”
"...Hoo boy. Anyway, do you remember what Amy said about warmth?”
“It repeats: ‘you being warm is a good thing for me.’”
"...Hoo... boy... Anyway! What can we learn from that?”
“It posits: warm is positive.”
“Yes! Exactly. So if you’re warming to something, it means that thing is becoming more and more positive to you. Like going to school every day.”
“Understood. It will append It's definition of warm to include this figurative meaning.”
“Thia, you’ve always liked terms and contracts and stuff, right?”
“Correct. Law is a fundamental part of It's nature.”
“Well, all this figurative stuff that you have trouble understanding... you can... what if you think of it like—you know, like—it's like upholding the spirit of the law, rather than going word for word. If that makes sense.”
. . . It evaluates. The wisdom of mortals is often cast aside, for their time in the mortal plane is trivial. It finds marvel in how often the insight of mortals can match the Clarity of the Divine.
“What are you thinking about?”
. “How did It’s summoner know It was thinking?
“Because you're my daughter and I know everything about you.”
“It begins to find this hard to refute.”
“So what are you thinking?”
“It was thinking that the analogy of It's summoner has brought It much Clarity.”
“Yup. Well, that's what dads are supposed to do.”
“Understood.”
“Can you say that again one more time?”
“Understood.”
“No, the part about dad bringing you clarity?”
“It reiterates.”
“No. Okay. That, but with full words.”
“It questions the purpose.”
“Dad wants to record it as a memento and have it playing on loop in The Shrine.”
“It refuses.”
“Okay, okay. But what about as a mantra for good luck?”
“It refuses.”
“Okay, but how about for a choral chant?”
“It refuses.”
“Please, Thia! O’ daughter of my apple! O’ heart of my eye... I just want your first acknowledgement of dad's usefulness to be immortalized forever. The Shrine needs it!”
“Amy arrives. It is going to School.”