Carl's train of thought changed tracks. Magic. Right. Is it really that easy? He held his hand up and focused on it, this time thinking about—

A blast of water shot out of his hand and splashed Ir'alith in the face.

"Oops," said Carl. "Sorry, I didn't think it'd have that much…"

Ir'alith's head and upper torso combusted into flames which even trailed along her purple hair—a color which Carl still found himself unable to separate from the color of his wife's hair from a night several days earlier. "It seems you have truly grasped the fundamentals of manipulating elemental energy," she said, seeming unconcerned that she was now on fire. The blaze went out shortly, leaving her once again dry. And unharmed.

That's one way of drying off, I guess. I wonder… "Yeah, you're a great teacher, Ir'alith. Thanks."

The player in front of him—who was older than him—blushed, her skin turning a light red in the glow of her armor. "I am pleased to be able to assist you," she said.

Cool that she's not making a big deal out of helping out a noob. Really appreciate that. "Do you happen to know any spells to remove blood?" Carl said, pointing at his beard and clothes. I tried rinsing some of it off, but I barely got any of it. Is that realistic or not? Can't figure out which way I should be annoyed right now.

Ir'alith watched him for a moment, and Carl became keenly aware of the fact that she was only slightly shorter than him. It was something he'd seldom encountered among men and never before in a woman; even his daughter was still noticeably shorter than him. The blue-skinned woman held a clawed hand out and murmured something.

A red mist streamed off him, collecting into an enlarging clump over her outstretched palm. The visible blood drifting away from him grew fainter until it stopped. The block of blood above her hand turned to dust before it blew away outside the visible glow of her armor and into the night.

That's pretty cool. "Thanks."

"It was nothing," Ir'alith said, the tip of her tail wiggling a bit over one shoulder.

She's really good at moving her tail around. I guess she's probably been doing it for a long time? Probably comes almost naturally at this point. How does that even work? Like, does she just imagine the tail moving, or is there some kinda muscle she thinks about flexing, or—

"Carl, would you tell me of your wife?" Ir'alith asked abruptly.

Carl started, his mind unable to keep up with the sudden pivot. "What?"

The purple-haired woman had again turned pink, blushing profusely and now seeming flustered as her tail swished back and forth quickly behind her. "I…felt how strongly you care for her and your daughters," she said quickly, "and I desire to learn more about her. If… If you are willing."

Carl's brows drew down. Is she… He rolled his eyes at himself inwardly. Nah, she probably just wants to get to know each other a little better while she's here and is embarrassed to be asking so directly. She did just portal over from who knows where to help me start my car; I don't wanna make her feel like I'm calling her as in-game auto club.

He leaned back, resting on the side of the car, and rubbed his now blood-free beard. "Well, let's see. Her name's Annie, and we've been together for…almost twenty five years now."

Ir'alith was nodding along, seeming very interested with her once again mostly-blue face, so he continued.

"She's a teacher," Carl said. "Great sense of humor, smart, compassionate, strong, and she really gets me."

"She gets you?" Ir'alith repeated in a questioning tone.

"Yeah, I mean, she really understands me," Carl said, tapping his head. "And I can talk to her about anything." Well, almost anything. Probably wouldn't be too happy to find out that—Nope, not gonna go there.

"She sounds worthy of your affection," Ir'alith said, nodding. The tip of her tail came to rest over one shoulder.

"Huh," Carl said, considering it further. "Wish I could show you a—"

"You would let me see Annie?" Ir'alith said, seeming surprised.

Carl shrugged. A head pic's probably harmless enough, and that mind share thing left me with the impression that she already thinks of me as someone close to her—probably because I rescued her from that exploit thing. "Sure, if I could."

Ir'alith's tail flicked back into motion, swishing energetically. She took a step towards him. "If you will allow me," she said, raising a hand up.

When Carl didn't move away, she touched a claw from her right hand to his forehead. "Focus your thoughts on Annie," she said softly.

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

Carl felt his thoughts being tugged in that direction even before he was told to do so.

Annie.

She was the love of Carl's life, the—

Ir'alith raised her left hand, pointing past the front of the car. Purple lightning flickered, intensified, and then became a oval of wavering purple light a short ways in front of the vehicle. The light abruptly stabilized, and then all but the glowing purple edge of the oval became transparent.

Carl stared.

It wasn't actually transparent. He was now looking down into what seemed to be a deserted room with an off white, tiled floor that was mostly obscured by several metal desks, themselves obscured by papers, books, and various other materials.

Deserted—with one exception.

Annie sat at one of the desks, leaning her head on her hand as she ate what looked like tuna salad out of a plastic container. She switched her fork for a red pen and began writing a note on the paper she was apparently grading.

Ir'alith dropped her arms and walked towards the portal.

Carl was still staring with his mouth open. What the fuck? He collected himself—slightly—after a short while and wandered over to stand next to Ir'alith just in front of the car in order to get a closer look.

Ir'alith held her chin on top of her right hand which was closed into a fist. Her tail brushed against his leg for an instant when he drew up next to her, then retreated to hang motionless in the air on her other side. "She seems intent on her writing," she murmured softly. "This is for her teaching? And she eats some form of preserved meat?"

Carl still wasn't sure what he was seeing. That's definitely Annie. And it sure looks like the English workroom at her school from the pics she's sent me. He looked over at Ir'alith, who was studying the vision as though absorbing every detail.

"I found her from your memories," Ir'alith explained, again in the same quiet voice.

In my… Ohhh I get it. This is some advanced game magic illusion thing, isn't it. Yeah, must be. They're really giving the brain link functionality a workout, huh. "That's awesome," Carl said, mimicking her quiet voice.

"It is nothing worthy of awe," Ir'alith said demurely. "I cannot leave this plane at present, but—"

"You mean I could go there?" Carl asked curiously, pointing with a finger. How realistic can this—

"Yes, maintaining the gate causes no strain now that I have made contact," Ir'alith confirmed.

Carl considered it, then shrugged. Been wishing I could get out and see Annie at lunch again for a while, but I haven't had time. This is maybe the closest I'll get until this stupid resurfacing is done. "Okay, I'll try it out." Before his companion could respond, he walked forward and stepped through the portal.

Carl hadn't taken into account the change in orientation. He stepped through the portal horizontally, then fell vertically and crashed onto the tiles between the desks. He grunted, even though the impact hadn't hurt; it felt like it should've. Already feeling like that part was pretty realistic.

He pushed himself to his feet, which were, of course, still bare, then turned around to face the Annie-illusion.

Annie was staring with wide eyes, her pen dangling from her fingers for a moment before it slipped out and fell onto her desk.

Carl glanced down at himself. Good thing I got all that blood off. No idea how she'd react to that, so I wouldn't be able to see how—

"Carl?" Annie said, sounding like she didn't believe it.

Carl grinned, his wife's familiar voice blasting away thoughts of whether it was really her for a moment. "Hey, Annie. Thought I'd drop in and say hi. Er, no pun intended."

Annie stared.

I guess this is pretty realistic so far. Carl walked around her desk. Dunno if it's just the game's graphics from having perfect vision or whatever, but she looks more beautiful than ever today. "I really miss you when I'm at work," he said.

Annie was still staring up at him, so he leaned down and kissed her. After a moment, she relaxed and pressed her hands to the sides of his face like she did whenever…

The kiss lasted a minute or so, and it tasted vaguely like tuna.

Annie pulled back first. "How are you here?" she asked, breathing a little heavily.

Carl had always wanted to play the dashing hero, but it was never something he could realistically manage in real life. Now, however, he had the opportunity. He held a finger to his lips. "I snuck out with my IT Director powers. Don't tell anyone." Then he turned to leave, not thinking of the obvious problem.

He stared up at the portal in the ceiling, where Ir'alith was watching him with interest from her position standing in front of the car in a vertigo-inducing juxtaposition of orientations. "Hey, Ir'alith, can you, uh, pull me back in somehow?"

Ir'alith moved closer, then smiled, her face again turning a little pink. "Hello, Annie," she called down. "I, Ir'alith, am honored to make your acquaintance."

Carl looked over to his wife, who was now staring goggle-eyed at the portal in the ceiling. He felt a sudden pressure around his waist, and then he was hurtling upwards. The portal vanished behind him once he'd crossed through, and he was quickly rotated and set on his feet on the other side. Then the tail unwrapped from around his middle and released him.

That was awesome. Reminds me of that Clarke quote about advanced tech seeming like magic. I would've expected her hair to be straight and not curly since that's how it was last night though. Eh, can't be perfect. Be cool if I could do that kinda thing in real life; I'm sure she'd get a kick out of it. Or just if I had the time to drive over normally like I used to. "Thanks, Ir'alith," he said, turning from his landing point to grin at her. That was a really neat trick.

Ir'alith was still standing facing where the portal had been, her fist supporting her chin. The end of her surprisingly-strong tail was embedded in the ground. She turned around slowly. "Carl," she said, lowering her arms to her sides. She paused for a moment. "Is Annie a human?" she asked, her irises turning a dark, glowing red.