HI MATT

[wearsthecoats]

Sherlock has:

• an armchair by the fire
• an expression of unreasonable cheer
• a mug of cold-pressed coffee
• a truly impressive collection of hickeys, accented by a well-bitten lip that only recently stopped bleeding.

Comments

[semicharmed]

Matt blinks.


"I know that name from somewhere ..."

[wearsthecoats]

"Villain of the piece," Sherlock supplies.

"It had to be someone I wasn't particularly worried about damaging, either."

[semicharmed]

Of the piece.

--Oh, snap, of his piece. Doyle's piece.

Matt eyes Sherlock now with something between concern for the hickeys and-- someone I wasn't particularly worried about damaging-- perhaps a greater measure of understanding.

Sherlock is Sherlock, after all.

(And if that makes sense to you, you've been coming to this bar too long.)

"That," he says.

"Is extremely quintessentially Milliways."

[wearsthecoats]

"In that case, I love the place. Want to be my second experiment? I can unequivocally promise no permanent damage."

[semicharmed]

Matt's eyebrows climb.

"Oh, I, um--"

Beat.

"Actually I did sort of do some brainstorming. Not with intent or anything, just. After our conversation."

[wearsthecoats]

"Do tell," he invites.

[semicharmed]

Well, apparently he wasn't wildly out of bounds!

"It was mostly on the subject of what I mentioned before ... that temperature-wise, you might be compatible with other types of creatures. Beings that are cold themselves, or are impervious to cold, or potentially ones that keep up a robust internal heat no matter what external stimuli they receive.

This led me ... more or less naturally ... to what I know best, which is my own magic, and I ended up thinking about ways a magical practitioner could hypothetically regulate their own temperature to combat cold."

Nobody wants sex-related gangrene.

[wearsthecoats]

"Fascinating. Do you want to experiment?"

[semicharmed]

Pause.

"It'd definitely be unique, that's for sure."

And ... who knows.

Maybe his magic might actually be good for something, for a change.

"Yeah," Matt says.

"I'm in. Sure."

[wearsthecoats]

"Brilliant. My room?" he suggests.

[semicharmed]

"Great."

Matt smiles crookedly as he bends to pick up his bag, and pauses in thought.

"I shouldn't need a lot, but I think I've got most of what I could conceivably need in here." He straightens. "Lead on."

[wearsthecoats]

Sherlock finishes his coffee, sets it down, hauls himself out of the armchair, and heads for the stairs.

[semicharmed]

And Matt ... follows.

He's wondering a little what he's getting himself into, but mostly he's replaying the series of thought experiments he had with himself about the kinds of spells one could cast to keep oneself from erotic hypothermia.

[wearsthecoats]

As he walks, he glances over his shoulder and asks, "What can you tell me about the ideas you've come up with so far?"

[semicharmed]

Matt speeds up to keep pace-- God, this guy is tall.

"Well, there's one approach I've zeroed in on, if I can swing it," he says.

"Altering internal body temperature is dicey, but it's conceivable that I could set a skin-level aura that would keep itself stable at a warm temperature."

[wearsthecoats]

"Interesting. Would you still feel the cold, or no?"

This is relevant to future experiments with Jim!

[semicharmed]

"Yes," Matt replies, nodding.

"But ... I'm not sure about this part, it's obviously still hypothetical, but it should be like feeling something cold on a hot day."

[wearsthecoats]

"Interesting," he repeats.

"This magic of yours—can anyone learn it?"

[semicharmed]

"There are elements of my practice anyone can do," Matt says.

"But for what we're talking about ... on my world it requires innate ability."

[wearsthecoats]

"Unlikely that I have it, then, but not totally impossible. I saw yours, after all."

[semicharmed]

He glances up at him thoughtfully.

"I won't say there's no possibility of overlap."

[wearsthecoats]

"Yes. The systems would have to be close for me to perceive yours directly the way I did. It looks a little different at home, but not very much."

[semicharmed]

He shrugs, cheerful.

"If you think at the end of this that my system would be a good one for you, I'd be happy to help."

[wearsthecoats]

"I want to learn everything about magic I possibly can."

[semicharmed]

Matt empathizes with that one.

"Then ... I can explain as I go," he says.

Quirking a grin, "And maybe assign some reading."