#set 44

VII: one of the characters wears a mask

“Does Snoop need a mask?”

“I don’t think she’d let you put one on her, do you?”

“Probably not.”

“By the way, you can take yours off now, you know. There’s nobody here but me.”

“Do I have to?”

“Well– no, I’m just saying you don’t need to wear it all the time.”

“But I don’t mind wearing it all the time.”

“Suit yourself, then. Goodness knows if there were more people like you, we wouldn’t be in such a mess.”

“Aw, thanks, mum. What a nice thing to say.”

I: one of the characters is a famous blogger/vlogger

"Fifty-one thousand people, though. Fifty-one thousand."

"I know, I'm looking at the same screen as you, darling."

"That doesn't... Perplex you?"

"What, that people are watching Arthur's videos?"

"In their droves. And they're not slideshows of calming landscapes set to tinkly music, either. It's actually him, talking at the camera."

"It doesn't perplex me in the slightest."

"Now you're just disagreeing on purpose."

"Would I ever? Don't answer that. No, I just don’t think it's that surprising. In times like these..."

"Oh, don't, Herc, you sound like a condescending bank advert—"

X: one of the characters visits another's hometown

They decide on a puzzle to start. Arthur sets the pile of games down at one end of the table and Wendy slides the stack of placemats over to make room. Above the table is a picture frame with three children grinning out from the middle. Arthur peers at it.

“Wow, is that Skip? Aw. Douglas was wrong, he’s grown lots.”

Wendy nods. “He was about six then, I think. He wore that t-shirt all the time.”

VI: one of the characters sings a lullaby to another

“I see,” said Douglas, as his newborn daughter continued to wail. “Not a fan of a cappella. That’s alright.”

Oh-so-smoothly, he edged the bassinet closer to the piano and lifted the lid. “Let’s try it with a bit of accompaniment, shall we?”

He began playing a simple backing to ‘Rockabye Baby’, soft keys and softer voice. At first it seemed to make no difference, but gradually Honour began to quieten. He glanced down at her and found her staring back, transfixed. Wide-eyed still, but silent.

IX: one of the characters leaves unexpectedly

Despite being an agent of chaos when it suited her, Talisker the farm cat was a creature of quite regular habits - she patrolled her domain every morning, joined Arthur when he went to collect the eggs, and generally prowled about, checking everything was in order.

So the second day in a row that she missed egg collection time, Arthur feared she’d left forever.

“Gone to seek her fortune?” Douglas mused. “What, without her boots? Surely not.”

III: one of the characters is hired to kill another

"You could have just refused the job,” Douglas mused, as they prepared the timeflyer for camouflage entry into the castle grounds.

“I could have,” Carolyn agreed, “But he’d have found someone else to do it. This way, the outcome’s the same, and nobody has to get assassinated.”

“You’re going quite soft, aren’t you?”

“I said nobody has to get assassinated, Douglas. Annoying pilots can still bring it on themselves.”

“Noted.” He grinned. “So, drop her off in a few thousand years’ time, is that the plan? What if she refuses to come?”