Supernatural Taxes

10) I waterboard an innocent minority.

"...G'd Morning," Atla spoke to Thanos neutrally, sniffed the eggs, then mass produced french toast for breakfast and lunch. Her first lecture was just before lunch, followed by a speedy run to work. Atla mildly dreaded her next lecture but there was no use ruminating on it.

She used a stool from her kitchenette to climb on the roof with a notepad and her truly fascinating accounting textbook. As a way of convincing herself that she'd only be lazing in the sun until inspiration to balance ledgers struck her.

Thanos had been talking most of that time but her sleepy answers were limited to three words with many, "mm's, hmm's and uh huh's."

"Ahhhh, that's nice and warm." Thanos rotated slowly to fully sun himself.

"Feel sunlight?" Atla's eyes were closed in bliss.

"Of course, I can feel sunlight, smell and hear perfectly normally. My vision is probably better than yours too since it's technically 360 degrees. Magic's only problem is that it can only ever touch and talk to one person.

"Why?"

"I don't know, who made humans, why are any of us here? That's just the way things are. Please don't ask those kinds of questions, most magic really doesn't like existential crises and paradoxes. It's so bad that that's how governments punish criminal magics, they call it prism"

"Which came first..."

"No! Nonononononononono!"

Atla laughed and turned over, Thanos regained his breath a bit.

"Ah, come to think of it, what are your hobbies Atla?"

"Hmmmmmm." She thought about it a bit. "Going for walks, running hanging out with my friends and sitting in the library maybe?"

"You're not part of any clubs or societies?"

"Not really, I did Judo in high school but I haven't got the time for those things now. Why?"

"I just wondered if we would always take nice naps like this in your free time." He sounded like a content old person.

"Some days yeah." She sat up and opened her textbook with great effort, "But I'm not taking a nap."

"Not anymore at least"

Atla said nothing and Thanos went back to rotating in the sun. Atla asked him for figures occasionally, his mental maths was excellent.

•••

Accounting was bearable not everyone here had seen her snap yesterday, even if it felt like they'd all heard of it; she grit her teeth through a few whispers of "cactus girl" but did her best not to react and give off a 'Do Not Disturb' impression.

Thanos didn't seem able to resist speaking, but at least most of it was loosely relevant to what the professor was explaining. Atla could also tap his pot lightly with her finger to tone him down.

Now she had half an hour to eat lunch, go to the bathroom and run to work. She was eating on a bench in an open air seating area on campus. Nearby was a large canteen where people queued to order.

Atla was just using the benches though, her lunch was sorted. A french toast sandwich with a bit of jam and a lot of grated cheese that happened to be in surplus.

"So Atla, do you want to use a spell now or later?" Thanos broached the topic.

"Mmmm," She did have to use one now if she wanted to get it over with before the sun went down. Identify was unattractive, and she was wearing the same running shoes as yesterday. "What've you got?"