Location: Underwater. Still. The novelty level is now approaching absolute zero. Even the colourful fish are starting to look repetitive.

  After mentally cataloging the house's various quirks yesterday, I decided to lean into our current aquatic predicament. Maybe if I stopped fighting the location and tried working with it? Highly suspicious of my own optimism, but worth a try. Given my spectacular failure at locating specific deep-sea ingredients via standard scrying through actual deep-sea interference (thanks again for the impeccable timing, house), maybe I should try using the local environment to my advantage? Or at least, try using it, period. Decided to attempt scrying again, but this time, using the actual seawater from outside, infused with the ambient energy of this reef. Maybe it would provide a clearer connection to local marine phenomena? Worth a shot. Theoretically.

  Step one: Acquire local seawater without A) flooding the study, B) accidentally siphoning in something venomous, or C) letting the Hair 'help' by trying to dunk itself directly outside. Rigged up a minor portal siphon charm connected to a filtering flask. Took ages to draw in a bowl's worth, filtering out plankton, random fish scales, and what looked suspiciously like mermaid glitter (bloody tourists, even down here). The resulting water looked… well, like water. Slightly salty, smelled vaguely of coral and distant whale farts. Appealing.

  Set up the scrying bowl again. Poured in the filtered seawater. It felt… different from the usual spring water. Thicker, somehow. More energetically 'busy'. Started the clarification and focusing enchantment. Usually, it’s a smooth process, the water becoming still and reflective. This time, it fought back a little. Tiny currents swirled against the magic, the surface seemed reluctant to flatten completely. Took more concentration than usual just to get it to a semi-stable state.

  This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

  The Hair, naturally, sidled up to investigate immediately. It seemed fascinated by the bowl of captured outside-water. It dipped a tentative strand in, then recoiled slightly, rippling in a way that suggested surprise or distaste. Then, instead of interfering directly with the bowl (progress!), it plastered itself against the nearest window again, staring intently outside, and started… tapping. Gently, rhythmically, against the glass, aimed towards a specific patch of rather intricate-looking purple coral. Tap-tap-tap. Pause. Tap-tap.

  Meanwhile, I tried to focus on the scrying bowl. Asked it to show me nearby concentrations of useful algae. The surface swirled… and showed me a blurry image of the grumpy Grouper sulking under a ledge. Asked it to show me patterns of Scalefin movement. It showed me the dopey Lantern Prawns bumping against the hull again. Asked it to show me anything useful, magical, or interesting within a league. It showed me a reflection of the Hair tapping enthusiastically at the windowpane.

  Bloody useless. Either the water down here is too magically 'loud' with ambient life energy to focus properly, or this particular bowl of seawater was just fundamentally uncooperative. Or maybe the Hair’s incessant tapping was psychic interference. Who knows. Poured the water back out via the siphon charm before something unpleasant decided to investigate the sudden appearance of foreign water back into its territory.

  So, experiment failed. Local water is crap for scrying, apparently. Or maybe my magic is just sulking because it prefers mountains. The Hair is still tapping at the window, utterly convinced that the purple coral holds the secrets to the universe, or possibly just wants to braid it.

  Think I’ll go back to the library. At least the books only try to bite you occasionally, and usually only the cursed ones. Way less annoying than optimistic scrying attempts or sentient hair with questionable taste in coral.