Chapter Text
“You did safety test this, right? Right???”
Tedd’s hand stopped a mere millimeter above the red button.
“Naturally I safety tested,” they replied without turning away from the screen. “I’ve scanned books, vegetables and a few rats Jeremy caught for me that way. There was no ill effect.”
“Dead rats?” Cheerleadra asked in a clipped tone.
“Na, Jeremy always brings me living rats.” Usually he asked Grace to set them free somewhere far away from the house, with strict warnings to keep away. This time, Grace had looked more disgruntled than usual after talking to them, but besides angering the rats, there hadn’t been any adverse effects.
“Ugh—Why does he do that?” Cheerleadra asked with disgust.
“Probably because he thinks I need to learn how to hunt.”
“Makes sense,” Cheerleadra agreed, sounding distracted.
Tedd checked the readouts. All scanner settings were green, the device was ready to go. Tedd was rather proud of this new setup. The magic mirror their mother had left offered new possibilities for seeing spells and analyzing more data than they could theirself. It was much more scientific that way.
Tedd raised their hand with an unnecessary flourish just to mark the occasion.
“Uh, did you test with any kind of electronic device? Like a mobile phone?
The rising tone and urgency of the question made Tedd look up at last and turn to Cheerleadra.
The pressure-release sticks were distinctly smoking.