TheAmishPirate

Return to Thellamie

Does he have experience with girls like this?

No, not really. Well, sort of? Kind of? It’s, hrm. He has experience with different sorts of girls, who are a bit like these girls, if that makes sense? He’s never really been bullied properly, if there’s a proper way to be bullied, that is. Nobody’s ever been deliberately mean to him, not really. Hazel Valentine Fletcher is a friendly guy, and gets along well with just about everybody, even across cliques and social barriers. (And hasn’t he been lucky in that regard?) He’s got a good sense of humor, smiles easily, loves to hear about what’s going on in your life, and never has a mean word to say about anybody.

But. There have been girls who freely give out kisses in the group chat to all their friends. And the first time it happened to him, he was so startled and flustered that all he could do was transcribe the noise he made. And maybe from that point onward, girls like that take special care to kiss him in the chat because everyone likes to see him flustered. Or fumble a train of thought. Or curse the name of his tormentor in allcaps, to a chorus of little kitty faces.

He’s got a good sense of humor. Sometimes a joke needs a goofball to say something silly. Sometimes a joke needs a straight man to step on the big red X. It’s good to be able to laugh at yourself. He doesn’t mind it if everyone’s laughing together. Though he’d mind a bit more if the aforementioned girls also took his wallet. Especially today, on his first Festival of Lights, at the start of his Thellamie adventure. And he didn’t have anything he could bargain for, not like Yuki might’ve. If he took his shirt off, they’d probably charge him extra.

…they’ve been dancing for like, four songs? Five songs? More? Are they ever going to - oh! Oh! That sounds like a big finish! Keli maneuvers them into a final pose, with an arm around the small of each other’s back, and in one motion they bow low until she whispers that’s low enough. She starts to say something else, maybe “good job?” But it’s drowned out by all the applause.

The applause. Somehow, he forgot that there were people watching? Except, he didn’t, because now that it’s over, he feels fit to burst with nervous energy. Despite all that dancing, he could run for miles and still have energy to spare. But they liked it. They liked it! They liked it a lot!

He grins until his nose scrunches with joy, and he shakes every hand offered, and oh, thank you, thank you so much. No, he’s just helping them out today. Aw, shucks, no worries, he’s glad you liked it so much! His head whirls, and maybe he shakes some hands more than once, but it’s better than missing someone, right? He makes a mental note to add a real note to his tablet later, he can’t forget to message that nice girl back. (He can’t forget.) Oh, goodness, for him? Thank you! That’s so kind of you! And may the light of the stars illuminate your path too!

Now, uh, how do you hug back a kid who’s hugging your leg? Are headpats appropriate, or…? Oh! No, no, ma’am, it’s no trouble. It’s okay. Glad she enjoyed the performance, take care! And of course he waves back, like a big goober, and his heart soars to see the tiny Nagi smile-

oh.

A shiver visibly runs down the length of his spine. All the stress and effort of dancing just. It doesn’t go away. Not really. He knows that his body is tired, he knows that he’s worn out. But he doesn’t feel it so strongly. It’s there, but wrapped up and kept away in a thick blanket, and in its place there’s. Stillness. Relief. Peace.

Her voice.

His legs tremble. He can’t stop them from shaking. His stomach performs complex acrobatics, tying itself in a knot of acidic panic. He smells and hears and feels Seli steal up on his right, and some dutiful part of his brain registers the fact but the rest of him isn’t listening anymore. There are more urgent matters to attend to.

Where does he look. Where does he look?! She is. Wow. She is. She is really pretty. Which is fine and he is not going to do a thing more with that thought. He is going to stand here and. His mouth is hanging open, but he’s not saying anything, but everybody else is talking so that’s maybe okay for a little bit longer. He’snnghhghhhhuuhhhhhhhhh. Gold. Shiny. Really, really shiny. Bad. Can’t. Shouldn’t. Can’t. Can’t. Look at…hair? Face? Face is safe. Face is moving. Hair is swaayyyyyyyyynnghhhh hair bad hair bad. Nose? Lips? Lips. Um. Lips. Um. Um. W…wow. Shiny too. Pretty, and, that’s all. Do not. She is pretty. She is so pretty. And that is okay but that is it. This is just a conversation. You’ve just met. She’s just being nice. She doesn’t know you. You don’t know her. Stop it. Don’t be a creep. She is pretty. Leave it at that. You’re just talking. Keep talking. And look away.

He tears his gaze down to the elegant hand squeezing his shoulder. She whips it back to her face with a soft, sultry hiss.

“I.” Ear. Look at her ear. “That’s really nice of you to say. Miss. Anat? Anat.” His curls tremble with the effort to hold his neck still. “But, I, really, I don’t know a thing about dancing. I wouldn’t have stepped up if it weren’t for Keli, and I only knew what to do because she was leading.” Gold sparkles in the periphery. He should look away. Look away. Come on Hazel. Look away. “I just. Hung on for the ride, and, I’m glad it turned out so good.”

He’s so tired. His heart’s racing so loud. Just keep talking…

“Anyway, it’d be a really risky start to a life of crime, and I don’t think you should kidnap me off the street.”

…okay, maybe stop talking.

Breathless Dead

Dolce sits down.

He chooses his spot with care. Not so close to the goddess to imply improper closeness. Close enough to hear her every word, and reply without raising his voice. The correct distance of teacher, to student, of divine, to adherent, of huntress, to maiden. Crosses legs, crosses arms, as she does. All around them, the garden of Demeter grows, and he is always aware of it. Do not take his focus for blindness. But when the hunter has discerned a place of safety, they will only harm their chances with panicked second-guessing. As the garden parts around them, as a tranquil grove manifests where it should, he does not take his eyes off of her.

“In my rather limited view.” His voice is steady. His voice is professional. The huntress cannot allow emotion to overcome them. “I see a difference, between then and now. In the past, I see the necessity of the hunter, the need to survive on a harsh and unforgiving land. The hunter lives or dies by proper respect, discipline, and technique. Today, I see a powerful man, secure in his position and wanting for nothing, decide that there is a need to test his colleague’s security, as a joke. He grows a new person, makes this need their need, burdens them with curses that will destroy them in the end, but will also give them the means to see their job through before they are shattered.”

He says nothing more, because what more is there to say? What could a mortal do for the pain of a goddess? Let this sliver of understanding, and this respectful silence, be his offering. May it bring you some delight, Huntress. Even a little bit.

“There are many things that are necessary for me to do. It is necessary for me to act as a member of the Service, or else I will be dropped on a remote planet and it will take me ages to catch up with my wife and my loved ones. If they are not all killed first. It is necessary for me to find a way to stall Liquid Bronze and the Summerkind for at least a day. Something that 20022 can’t undo, so that Vesper can find a way to save us all. It is necessary for me to hide what I am doing from 20022, or else he will lock me in my room until his task is finished. It is necessary for me to find a refuge for the Royal Architect, or else either he or the other Sanalessa will die. And.” His ear flicks. The work continues behind them. “It is necessary for me to give Sanalessa a life. One not bound by curses. I know that, in the strictest definitions of necessity, my life would continue if I abandoned these final two tasks. But I think the sheep who survives by discarding her would not be me anymore.”

The ground here is unsteady. The student speaks his answer boldly.

“That is to say, it is necessary for Dolce to return to Vasilia.”

Return to Thellamie

You know, he’s never danced before?

There was some small part of him, a part that didn’t bother to speak with words very often, that always wanted to. Hit enough buttons in time to the music, flail about on enough dance pads, you start to wonder what the real thing’s like. If you’d be any good at it. If you’d like it. But the longing never grew into a proper wish while he still had a dance club he could join. Now it’s too late. Maybe there’s a seniors’ ballroom dance society in town somewhere that wouldn’t mind a younger face.

There’s too many eyes on him. If it wasn’t for the insistent tug on his hand, he’d be standing stock-still. If his body didn’t know how to follow a beat, he’d be stumbling to the ground. Every moment he’s surprised he hasn’t made a fool of himself yet. But it’ll happen. He knows it’s going to happen. He’s going to miss a step. He’s going to go right when he should’ve gone left. They’ll know. They’ll know.

And for a moment, he doesn’t have to move. He hangs, perfectly still, perfectly balanced in Keli’s grip. All he can see is glitter and silk. Purple and golden brown. Whispering heat on his lips.

“Eyes on me.~”

In the rushing, whirling panic of his thoughts, he scrambles for this patch of solid ground like his life depends on it. When the world stops spinning, he finds her eyes. She steps him forward. She steps him backwards. His gaze doesn’t leave hers, except when he has to blink, which presumably he was still doing, because his eyes weren’t getting itchy. Follow her. Eyes on her.

Bit by bit, his body relaxes into the rhythm. Somewhere, he stops counting the one, two, three, four. And-

It’s tricky, playing games about rhythm, because when the music is pumping, and your heart is racing, and your thoughts vanish into a flow of focus and reaction, you want to dance, right? It’s not optimal. You might forget to actually hit the buttons when you’re supposed to. A lot of people don’t do it, and he always wonders if anyone’s watching and thinking he’s trying to showoff. But it’s more fun to sway as you slide your fingers across the touchscreen. Bounce, bounce, bounce between the notes. Give a little flourish, because he can, and because he loves this song.

A pop of the foot. A sway and a swish to his step. Spin him out, and he stretches his arm out, and hold, and hold, and let his fingertips play with the light as it passes. His body knows what it wants to do. His body knows when to do it.

His mind is free to float.

The song is lovely. The music is wonderful. He could listen to them perform for hours. He could dance like this for hours. He’ll be sad when the song ends. The silk on her hip is so soft. It’s like no clothing he’s ever worn before. He rests his hand on her with no extra pressure. He would be a gentleman about this. He remembers the dip. He remembers the dip. What did he think was going to happen? She wasn’t. She wouldn’t. Even if she dipped him again she. She wouldn’t. It was just a dance.

The purple looks so pretty, around her brown eyes. She looks so pretty…

This is all part of a fox scheme. Don’t forget. They’re up to something. That’s why she wanted to show you around. That’s why she wanted to dance with you. Don’t get lost in the music. Don’t forget to hit the buttons. Don’t think about her dipping you again.

Don’t forget.

[Hazle gets 1 XP for dancing like a good boy. Rolling to Figure Out A Person, +1 for rhythm games: 6 + 4 + 1 = 11.

-What do you hope to get from kidnapping guiding me around the festival?

Banking one question.]

Breathless Dead

“I thank you for your grace and generosity. Allow me a few minutes to consider; your blessing is great, and I would not waste it on an unwise answer.”

It is only by her leave that he has time to fill in the proper paperwork for a query. A few minutes was not unreasonable. If a goddess decided it was a time to be reasonable. If. In the rampant growth, he is careful not to let even a drop of blood land outside its appointed box.

“She of the Hunt, Sharpest Pen, Cleanest Letter. I have here one who is sworn to you in body, and now will be sworn to you in bone. Since leaving home, all I have learned is how much I don’t know. The tales do not convey the half of it. But as I consider it, the tales never say what to do if one should find themselves with an Assassin under their command either. They always start after that bit has already been decided on. Arrows nocked, destined to shatter to pieces when they inevitably strike their target.”

“Is that all an Assassin is? Is this what they are meant for, what they must always be?”

Return to Thellamie

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa???!!????!!??

How?! How do they know the most devastating things to say? That is! Not fair! Not fair at all! He can’t look either of them in the face, because if he does, he will surely perish, and so he’s got to stare a hole straight through the ground in front of him. He probably meant to fold his hands in his lap, but instead his arms have gone folded around his middle, and the twin pressures of foxgirl whispers and Nagi lore(?) are squishing him into a tight little ball. They mercilessly assault him from both sides, no warning to when one or the other or both will strike. And every time he tries to take a deep breath to compose himself-

It is. Distracting. The perfume counter at the mall always smelled so, so sharp and weird and pungent, he usually just held his breath and power-walked past, never making eye contact with the salespeople lest he invite further stink. This is completely different. This smells warm and soft, which shouldn’t be smells? Those aren’t real smells. But that’s what it smells like, two scents fighting (yet complimenting each other?) to envelop him, and deep breaths - his oldest and trustiest friend - only leave him feeling fuzzy-headed. Which, I suppose he is usually fuzzy-headed, but-

Buried alive?! Seli!!! What does that even meannnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn

No choice now. No other option. He buries his blushing face in his hands, to the giggles of foxgirls. It’s the only thing to do in a situation like-

PrINceSS? Keli?! What does that meannnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn

Well. Haven’t heard that one before. Goodness.

Okay, so. They’re up to something. One hundred percent. There’s no such thing as the Market Wars, or Yuki would’ve told him about it. This is a foxgirl scheme, and Yuki did tell him about those. That’s why they’re messing with him like this. To what end? No idea. Probably trouble. Definitely trouble. Oh dear.

But they were being pretty nice about it, all things considered. The arms holding his were careful. And soft. They weren’t being mean, not really. And. Well. They hadn’t pushed too hard either. As much as Yuki had said to be careful, they were her friends, right? Of a sort. Kind of. It was a complicated relationship. (And they did play a big part in beating Azaza. (Real people. From Yuki’s stories. Wow.))

Maybe seeing some of the festival with them wouldn’t be such a bad idea. They probably weren’t going to haul him away down the first alley they passed. Probably. And maybe he could figure out what they were planning, or get a message to Yuki, or, something. There wasn’t really a polite way to escape a kidnapping, was there? That would take some figuring out.

But first.

“I-I think there might be a lot of people in line before me for Princess…hood.” He nods several more times than is strictly necessary. Tries to resist as they drag him off, but just can’t get his silly feet under him. Darn. “A-and! It’d, be very rude to cut in line?”

He sees them share a Look. He feels a fond squeeze on each arm. He hears the swish-swish-swish of delighted, fluffy tails. And his heart swells with joy.

Well done, Hazel. Well done.

Breathless Dead

It wouldn’t.

Not “she” wouldn’t. It wouldn’t. His and Vasilia’s story wouldn’t end there. Water is wet. The void is dangerous. The gods are immanent. He only takes notice of the thought because a goddess has contradicted it, and only then to wonder how he knows it to be true. Never to think it could be false.

He might say that is what separates it from setting a broken bone. The crucial difference.

He might.

“Thank you. I shall give your advice all due consideration.” he bows his head in shame. “Though much of your wisdom may be too lofty for me. Your servant has been striving to fill the gaps in my education, and I do so appreciate our talks, he’s really quite wonderful at it. But I am just a chef. As far as we’ve come, we still have quite a ways to go.”

See the humble wrinkles in his forehead. See the sincere effort in the scrunch of his nose. Could any such student be accused of lacking honest effort?

His wife’s not a horse. Hrm. That could also be crucial.

Return to Thellamie

No! He didn’t! That wasn’t! No no no no no, and also, no!

Okay, so, yes, he did look down. But! He didn’t look down her top! If you’ll rewind the tape, just a little further, just a little further, aaaaaaaand stop! See? See? If you zoom in, you can clearly see a veil between her eyes and. Um. The accused zone. You don’t see too many veils back home. You don’t see many veils in a lot of places, when you think about it. And it’s, the design is, there’s a lot to see from that close up. But, the point is, he didn’t look.

Not directly. There’s peripheral vision, and so, he’s. A w a r e. Of both of them. And he’s really, really sorry about that. But he didn’t look. Not once. Every time his attention ping-ponged back and forth, his eyes were on their faces. Got it? Got it. Okay. Just wanted to set the record straight.

Right. So.

Cute? Him? What? Cute? What? Treat? Him? Little? What? What? What?!

Keli and Seli. “What about the bounty she paid you” themselves. Of course. It all made sense. Some of it made sense. A bit here and there made sense. The important bits made sense, and the important bit was that they were up to something. Which is why they were so interested in his personal space, why they were saying all those things, why they were looking at him so, so…foxily. Oh yes. He was in trouble. What sort of trouble? Troublesome trouble, that’s what. Quietly, he shifted his purse until it was resting safely against his tummy, which required a bit of wiggling on account of two foxgirls intent on squishing him between them.

“Oh. Um. Th-thanks.” Come on voice. We can’t be cracking under pressure. We need you! He gave a tiny nod to Keli for her daring ice cream rescue and inexplicable noises. “Yeah, yeah, it is a bit cold. That is. Um, y-yes, I just got here today, actually. Here, in Crevas, that is, I’ve been here for…longer, than a day.” So have most people here! Excellent observation!!! “I-I haven’t seen much yet, that is, I came here with my friend, and, she was busy so I was just, you know, bumbling around, seeing the sights, and such, yeah.” He glanced to sea green spice. “Appreciate the concern, but I don’t, um, I don’t think I’m gonna get kidnapped off the streets? There’s a lot of people, and, I don’t, um.” Why was she looking at him like that. Why did he know she was smiling if he couldn’t see her mouth. Why was his face burning so much. “I don’t think Nagi typically just. Scoop people up. Randomly. In the crowd. And carry them. Away?”

Seli looked at him. Unblinking.

He gulped, mouth dry, and turned to Keli.

Keli looked at him. Identically.

“Ummmmmmmmmm.”

He turned back. And forth. And back. And forth again.

“That is, to say, I only really just…started seeing stuff, and…”

Were they always this close to him? When he looked at them, all he could see were rich eyeshadow and long, long lashes framing big, glittering eyes, and silky veils woven in dizzying patterns fluttering against the contours of their faces, and his throat tightened and, words, difficult, so, he turned around and oh no why are there two of them? Why are there two of them pointed at him?!?!

“Uhhhhhhhhhhhh…!”

In one swift motion, he pulled his gaze down, chomped the last bit of his ice cream cone, and stared dutifully at his hands balled up in his lap. He chewed. Slowly. Really appreciating the flavors. Nodding, and making several affirmative mmm-hmmms at the assembled company, which was a totally suitable contribution to the conversation. All while his brain overheated with the effort of untangling a myriad of foxgirl problems.

Breathless Dead

The Craftsman tends to the harvest, and Sanalessa. Dolce stands to the side, and this takes all of his attention. He moves with a careful economy of motion. One step, even if two would be more comfortable. Three steps, if one would risk his balance. Each piece of him moves in turn, bending at the waist while his raised leg hangs motionless, that not even a scrap of wool will catch on a hanging vine. He places no hoof without watching it fall. Demeter’s garden is a wild, thriving thing. He will neither harm nor impede it.

A dangerous line of questioning. And he had not recalled a thing until she asked. What snippets floated through his mind were so incomplete, he could hardly make sense of them. Pain worse than he’d ever known. A chef lying bleeding on a desert battlefield soaked with rain. Defying Demeter, and yet, the thought gave him no shame?

His hoof stops. Shifts a hair to the right. Comes down beside thorns.

“If I had, then I would have not been so brazen as to seek a harvest without the slightest of offerings. Only now I remember…something. I see fragments, but nothing around them. I see what must be me, but it is no me that I recognize.” He is troubled. He is suffering. He lets it show. “I am afraid something may be terribly wrong with me. This is, of course, no excuse for impoliteness. While I serve your adherents aboard this vessel, I will tend to a garden myself, and all of its fruits will be given unto them and unto you. Please accept this in recompense for my poor memory.”

“But I ask for no harvest myself. With form and contract, ink and blood, Sanalessa entrusted herself entirely to my care, and I swore I would act in her best interest until she was whole again. I did not lightly seek my friend’s help, for I know not whether she herself would wish to be treated by the same arts that carved a curse into her bones. But he is my friend. I trust that when I ask him to do no more than speed what growth is in her body, he will hold to it. I believe that, given the choice, she would prefer a swifter freedom. And most of all.” He bows his head. “Sanalessa is only under my care. She is not mine. She is her own. If she decides to leave me as soon as she awakes, I will respect that decision, and wish her well.”

“Though it is my voice that asks, whatever harvest you see fit to give is hers, and hers alone. I humbly entreat, Lady of Summer, She of the Eternal Garden, that she not suffer on my behalf.”

Return to Thellamie

It’s real ice cream. The kind that comes in scoops. Not that there’s anything wrong with soft serve! Soft serve is a great treat. You can get it just about anywhere, and it’s pretty much the same everywhere, which means it’s always going to be there for you. A reliable dessert friend. And it’s no insult to a good friend to lose your head a little when there’s a concert in town, and the band’s playing spiced vanilla so rich and creamy, you have to eat it in little bites. Except you have to eat it in little bites already, because it’s hard-frozen, dessert strong against desert sun, which is just perfect, because slow is how you want to eat it. One lick at a time. One nibble at a time. Letting the sweet flavors melt in your mouth, savor every second of spice. And there’s no rush, because you bought it in a big waffle cone (scaled cone?) that’ll catch any errant drips as you make your way down to the crunchy goodness.

He’s not even had lunch yet. Illicit elevenses ice cream. Bought with his own money. Because he could.

The hollow fills with the tap-a-tap-tap of his heels on the cobbles, because the bench is too short to swing his legs about. He doesn’t know he’s smiling with his whole face, only that he’s so happy he could just burst.

He’s on an Adventure. It’s really happening.

He’s sitting on a bench in Crevas. He’s at the real Festival of Lights. He’s got a fancy pouch slung over his shoulder, and if his hands weren’t full of ice cream he’d take out one of the coins and trace the engravings again. He looks up the left side of the plaza, giving the dancer a wide berth, and a family of Serigalamu walk right past him. And! He has antlers! And a little tail! It goes flicka-flick! He doesn’t quite know how! But he runs a hand over the unfamiliar horns sprouting from his curls, somehow both tough and fuzzy at the same time, and it’s all he can do not to giggle in wonder. He scans the plaza, and his eyes cross paths with a bare stomach before bouncing at once to her face. He can watch her face, she’s performing. She. A Nagi. Real. Standing right there. Dancing right there. Aaaaaaaand now he is going to look at the fountain while she shimmies on lower to the ground. How did they make it look like water was coiling up the central pillar like that? It was magic, right? Unless it wasn’t, which could be even more impressive!

Crevas. The home of the Nagi. Shapes he had only seen on paper or - shamefully - a screen, moving. Laughing. Singing. Living.

You know, when Yuki said they were coming here, already, he was worried it was going to be a lot harder? But he’s doing great. He looks from the fountain to the glassworks shop across the plaza, and he doesn’t stop for a moment on glowing white tresses or glittering top. See? Not a problem! He’s passed more Nagi than he can count today, and he didn’t stare at any of them. It’s a lot like summertime back home, come to think of it. Even if people wore less, people were people, and that was no call to treat them like some kind of creep.

The gathering crowd breaks into applause, and he peeks over The Nagi sways lower, and lower, until nearly half of her was lying parallel to the ground. And still she dances, as if the whole world had turned sideways and not her. Just imagine the skill it takes to dance like that, not to mention the strength, goodness. Of all the eyes in the plaza, her lidded gaze finds his. And at once he looks up at the ceiling, brow furrowing, as if he had been thinking about something else the whole time. You know. The sort of thing that people do all the time when they haven’t been staring. Perfectly normal and inconspicuous.

Nicely done, Hazel. Now she thinks you were ogling her for goodness knows how long. Staring, and staring, like she was doing all this for you. You couldn’t have just looked at her like a normal person, no, you had to act as guilty as humanly possibly. Face flushed and counting the ceiling tiles. Stupid.

He should probably just leave. It’d be worse to stay.

Well. He still had a little ice cream left. He’ll leave in a bit.

(And it is awfully hard to maintain a grump in the presence of ice cream. The last bite especially, when it’s the perfect mix of crunchy cone and melty ice cream all in one big delicious burst! (Flicka-flick!))

Breathless Dead

Have you ever been a bag of wool before? You really ought to try it sometime, it’s quite comforting. Not that it’s suitable to be a bag of wool with just anyone you meet, but after a long day of stress and work and worry, imagine the relief at not even having to manage where you’re going. You are held. You will wind up somewhere nice. And all you’ve got to do is hold still. What a bargain!

“Please sir, I’ve not had nearly the free time to find a nemesis,” he says with a slight smile. It’s a joke, because it’s not really fair if it isn’t one. He’s not. He’s not personally looking to thwart 20022, they’re just. Working at cross purposes. They haven’t talked about it because. He hasn’t talked about it, because 20022 won’t listen to him. 20022 hasn’t bothered to talk about how he’s working to murder his wife, his friends, and everyone else who happened to live on the same planet as him. He hadn’t even acknowledged that bit.

Which did feel rather personal.

“20022…” he starts, staring glumly into his drink. But there’s a job to do. And there’s nothing to be had by sulking. So instead, he says, “There’s little I can do procedurally. I imagine he’s got enough to keep him busy, but the bulk of the work’s done now. If I suddenly take an interest in anything sensitive, he could spare the time to triple-check anything I do. He might just cancel my orders and do it all over himself, just to be safe.”

“I don’t know this for sure.” He shifts in his stool uncomfortably. “So take it with a grain of salt. But it’s possible he’s keeping an eye on me to make sure I’m not up to anything.” Which would be entirely uncalled-for. Nothing that happened on Beri was his fault. He was well conscious of that. “Just in case, we ought to find a way to keep in touch. It might look a little odd if you keep stopping by for lunch.”

His ears flick. No one in the halls. Nobody in the nearest few halls.

“You mentioned Ikarani. Is that anything like a Deodekoi?”

Somewhere, in the collection of all the words ever written, there must be a combination that, when said in the proper order, the proper way, would make 20022 realize how wrong this all was. He did not have time to find those words. He might have time to thwart an extermination fleet. If he hurries. If he can work through the sting of settling for a second-best, less sensible solution. Most importantly, if he can keep 20022 from noticing what he’s really up to.

Do you plan on using the assassin against Liquid Bronze?

“If so, I would like to formally request your assistance with a little matter of my own. You see, I don’t know if I’m properly caring for a severed head…”