Engaging Presentation and an Interruption Small Bargain - Definitive Edition chapter 6 by tfwnogiantgf

"But Aria, it's an emergency!" Blake pleaded.

He sensed a dainty finger approaching him... But it stopped directly in front of his spot on the tum. "Shh!" She swiftly hushed the voice from her stomach. "Give Indigo time, I said!"

He couldn't believe it. This damned woman, his friend he'd given so much for, was actually prioritizing a class speech she didn't even have to listen to, over his wellbeing? He couldn't breathe! He could barely move! He couldn't do anything but look out, and listen, trying not to go crazy by focusing on Indigo.

"...From The Worst Witch to Little Witch Academia, and all the Scholastic catalogs in between. But at what point did magic move from a force to be feared, to a pop culture force? And how would we contrast wizards to witches, as the subjects of-"

Blake, to his dismay, had to agree with Aria. This was entirely up his alley. Indigo had done her reading; she knew a lot more about magic than any "normal person" he'd met. He was enraptured by how well she summarized it.

"Which brings us to Sabrina, the teena-"

GLBLGLG

He felt Aria blush as the volume of her stomach rumbled him. The continual bubbling rattled him. It took a lot of patting and pressing before the noises settled down.

Blake huffed a little, listening to Indigo go on. "Which brings us to Sanderson's rules, in that magic systems can have well-defined rules and solve problems; or spontaneous and mysterious, but cause-"

Aria interrupted with a mumble: "Sorry... I know you're having a hard time."

Blake shushed her gently. "I wanna listen."

Despite herself, Aria grinned. "You changed your mind~"

"Later! I wanna hear her!"

Indigo continued on. From his spot, Blake could see a bit from under the desk; she was making big gestures, trying to imitate wand waving. "...Or simple words. Which connects to the old idea of 'true names' having power. The English word for 'bear' is simply a euphemism, meaning 'brown one'; its true name was lost to time, since people thought saying it would summon a-"

GLOOOORPGH

Aria's stomach continued bubbling. This time, Indigo herself paused the presentation and stared for a moment. Aria apologized quietly, and hunched over to her gut. "What were you doing-!?"

"I'm not making any noises, you are!"

"Don't embarrass me, Blake..."