Short and Sweet WTF

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It’s the end of another long and unproductive day spent running around like decapitated poultry, alas…

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Hourglass Beach, dusk

“At least the sunset looks nice,” you tell a (rather apathetic-looking) seagull.

“Pfft, ‘nice?’ Truly I am in awe of Miss Manning’s eloquence.”

You scrutinize the seagull closely. It still looks like a seagull. It does not appear to have spoken.

A snort. “Oi, over here.”

A woman appears from around a rocky outcropping. You recognize her as Margot Argent.

“I was hoping to catch you on your way by,” she says. She looks past you and flicks a finger in the direction of the seagull. “You, get lost.”

The seagull leaves.

You point after it. “Friend of yours?”

“That’s not the word I would use,” Margot says, and seems disinclined to say anything further. For want of other options, you oblige her and watch the sunset; the silence is somehow not as awkward as it could have been. 

The sun inevitably concludes its descent, giving way to the cool hues of twilight. You are considering the best way to excuse yourself and are thus taken by surprise when Margot holds out an item that looks like…a floppy disk?

You accept it with a nonplussed, “Is this a floppy disk?”

Margot blinks once, slow like a cat. “I recovered it from a shipwreck,” she says, which doesn’t answer the question, and raises several others besides. 

“I see,” you say, unseeing. 

“It contains my challenge for you,” Margot adds. 

You, “…”

Margot, “…”

You, “…right.”

Margot, “Splendid.” She turns to leave. “Ah, right. As of tomorrow morning, I will be away indefinitely on a research expedition. Please pass along my regrets to Elizabeth, if you’d be so kind.”

You agree even though it’s a fifty-fifty chance whether or not you’ll follow through. Margot looks unconvinced of your sincerity, but in the end she just wishes you a good night. 

The Challenge