Tangled in Moonlight: Unshifted (Ava and Lucas)

Chapter 311 Lisa: Would a Watch Work?

LISA

"You've gotten fat," Elverly greets me, in that traditionally hateful way of hers.

Does the fact that | missed her toxic tongue markas abnormal? Probably. But | hug her anyway, smiling

when her body doesn't tense, even as she grumbles atfor touching her without permission.

"I'll ask next time. How have you been?"

Elverly's snort could mean anything really, but | choose to interpret it as I've missed you too.

Maybe I'm psychotic. Or delusional. But I'm pretty sure that's what she means.

"Their food is terrible," she mutters. "Not a cook among them."

"They are refugees from war," says the Grand Sage, sounding rather resigned. "It isn't as though they would

gather the kitchen before escaping."

"Food is important," the old gnwoman snaps. "Eating well is an important part of recovery."

"Yes, yes."

| can't help but smile as | watch the Grand Sage and Elverly bicker. Their dynamic remindsof an old married

couple, though I'd never dare say that out loud. Elverly might actually bite my head off if I did.

"It's good to see you, Lisa," the Grand Sage says, turning towith a warm smile.

"Kellan thought it'd be the safest place forwhile Ava and Lucas are... you know."

The Grand Sage's eyes twinkle with understanding. "Ah, yes. It's always important to step away from new mates.

Wolves don't have the sdeep-seated urges for privacy as humans do."

My cheeks burn at the implication. Desperate to change the subject, | nod towards the papers scattered on the

table in front of him.

"What are you working on? Looks like skind of design."

The Grand Sage's face lights up. "Indeed it is. I'm developing a communication device. Something smaller and

more portable than what we currently have."

"Oh?" | lean in, genuinely curious. "Like a magical walkie-talkie?"

He chuckles. "Something like that. Communication is a weak point for us right now, and I'm trying to address

that. But I'm working with limited options due to our lack of supplies."

We're refugees, after all. It's not like we have access to the latest tech or endless resources.

"Plus," he continues, "it needs to be independent of magical affinity."

"What do you mean by that?"

The Grand Sage sets down his pencil and turns to facefully. "Not everyone in our camp can utilize or sense

magic. We need a device that anyone can use, regardless of their magical abilities."

Oh. Yes. Obviously that's what that means. "Right. Gnomes can't use magic. Or wolf shifters."

He smiles. "We gnomes have always been deaf to magic."

| lean against the table, fascinated. "So, how does that work with werewolves? | mean, their whole shifting thing

is pretty magical, right?"

"Ah, excellent question," the Grand Sage says, his eyes lighting up. "Werewolves do indeed have a form of innate

magic that allows them to shift. But that doesn't necessarily translate to an ability to manipulate other forms of

magic. It's a bit like how shumans might have extraordinary physical abilities but no talent for, say,

mathematics. They are unrelated.

Now, let's get back to the communication device, shall we?"

I nod, leaning in to look at his sketches. They're intricate, full of symbols | don't understand and diagrams that

make my head spin. "So, how exactly would this work?"

The Grand Sage picks up his pencil again, tapping it against the paper. "The basic principle is to create a network

of energy that can carry messages across distances. Think of it like your human rawaves, but powered by a

different kind of energy."

"Magic," | supply.

He nods. "Yes, but not in the way you might think. The device itself would be charged with magical energy, but

using it wouldn't require any magical ability from the user. It would be like using a flashlight. The electricity

makes it work, but you don't need to be an electrician to turn it on."

It always surpriseshow familiar the gnis with our human world and its inventions, but | suppose that's

why he works on magical technology, trying to blend the two things. "That makes sense. So, what's the hold-up?

Why isn't it working yet?"

The Grand Sage sighs, running a hand through his beard. "Resources, mainly. We need certain materials to

construct the devices, and they're not easy to cby in our current situation. And then there's the matter of

testing and refining the design. It's a delicate process. But above all, we would need a way to charge them."

So many intricate designs and symbols are scattered across the papers. A thought strikes me, and | can't help

but voice it.

"Instead of starting from scratch, what if you used something that already exists as a base?"

The Grand Sage's eyebrows rise with interest. "That would depend on what you have in mind, my dear."

It seems almost silly to suggest, but... "Well, what about watches? You know, instead of carrying around

something bulky, we could take old watches and turn them into something like cell phones. Kind of like smart

watches for humans."

His eyes light up with fascination. "Smart watches? I'm afraid I'm not familiar with this term. Could you

elaborate?"

"So—watches are these small devices we wear on our wrists to tell time. But smart watches are like tiny

computers. They can do all sorts of things—make calls, send messages, even track your health. They're often

linked to our cell phones."

The Grand Sage leans forward, clearly intrigued. "Fascinating! And these are small enough to wear on one's

wrist?"

"Yep. They're super convenient. | thought maybe we could do something similar with magic."

"Could you perhaps draw one for me?" he asks, sliding a blank piece of paper towards me.

| grimace. "I'll try, but | have to warn you—I'm not much of an artist."

Taking the pencil, | start sketching. My lines are wobbly, and the proportions are all off, but | do my best to

capture the basic shape of a watch face and band.

word

word

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