+Ooh,+ says Brilliance. +Thanks! I think I will!+

+It's non-urgent, so if Sarion or somebody has something more interesting lined up don't feel obliged.+

He giggles. +We'll see.+

She giggles. +And other visitors can come over too. When you guys want breaks. I'll sleep with you, but not the demon.+

+We'll have a little Joker party,+ he says, laughing. +You can spy on us if you want.+

+If I decide I wanna do that do I have to tell you guys I'm doing it? That sounds embarrassing to have to announce, I don't know if I'd want to even absent that but still.+

+No! Wasn't that the whole point of that announcement we made that time? Jokers fucking is free porn.+

+So noted.+

+I mean, if you want to watch it and then talk to me about what parts you liked, awesome, but you don't have to keep us informed or anything.+

Bella giggles.

Jane relays this to the demon-dragon, in Brilliance's voice.

[We have not, and we would love to.]

[Go stand in front of Sarion's ring and say when. Are you both going?]

Sarion comes and kisses them goodbye.

Yoink!

To Planet Rainbowsand they go.

[Awesome, thanks!] says Brilliance to Jane. [Tell the rest of the Jokers we're having a party, wouldja?]

The rest of the Jokers seem to think this is a great idea. They start trickling in over the course of the next few minutes, most of them notifying loved ones on the way, some of them in case those loved ones want to drop by.

Cam may drop by as offered, later on.

Aurora is available if Brilliance happens to want to take any of his breaks apart from the deck. Otherwise she'll amuse herself with wish designs.

He does do that, once or twice! Requests for Pants may be involved.

Aurora can supply same! Although she is not clear on how this constitutes a "break".

It is a break because he's having sex and not casting spells! Silly Aurora.

"Huh, I can see the channeling residue," she murmurs, and she pokes a bit of it, seeing if she can tamp it down.

"Yeah," laughs Aurora. "Painkiller applications. D'you want it gone? Turned up? Augmented with unrelated odds-and-ends?"

"I dunno!" he says. "Try some of those and let's see!"

She laughs, and does a different thing to each of his limbs. One arm gone completely painless, one with enchanneling pain slid up to double this modest intensity, and each leg subject to different odds-and-ends on top of the painkilling residue in the mid-pentagon range - one constricted, one lacerated.

He giggles and hugs her. "That's cute. I love you."

She presses a kiss to his forehead.

Bella obeys, snuggling back. She still operates his nerves like he's a piano, but she's a fast learner and has gone beyond gentle flailing. It amuses her to concentrate on some place, drifting between flavors, and then startle him with an intense, pinprick-small touch in an unrelated location.

He tends to squeak, giggle, and hug her when she does that.

All good signs.

Also there is snuggling. Lots and lots of snuggling.

Copious snuggling. As much as he likes.

All the time in the world. Well, unless his guests get bored and leave.

Cam has shown up. He is making out with Brilliance's favorite Joker at the moment.

Brilliance beams at them, hugs Queenie - because you always hug Queenie - and borrows Ghosty to do some enchanting.

Brilliance's favourite Joker carries on making out with his favourite Bell.

Good. That is the idea. Cam might try the two of the deck he hasn't gotten around to at some point, but for the time being he's just visiting his boyfriend who's been gone for awhile.

(That's the plan. First, though, a thorough indulgence of sweet tooth.)

Jellybean is very sweet! And he does not cause cavities. No matter how much of him you eat.

Cam will have to rely on his own self-restraint to stop! Eventually. Sometime. He's managed to interrupt himself from kissing Jellybean before, and he can do it again.

Even though Jellybean is the tastiest! Cam sure does have some self-control.

Yup. Next time an un-Cam-tried Joker wanders by and wants to take a break Cam will be right there, ceasing to nom his Jellybean.

There's one!

Cam waves!

Aianon waves back.

And Cam tilts his head and raises an eyebrow. "You're the only person in this room I haven't had sex with, it's dreadfully asymmetrical," he says.

"I would be delighted to help you soothe away this trouble," says the demon.

"It's for you," he says. "I like to make good things for people to eat."

"I feel rather inappropriately like the wicked queen from Snow White."

He laughs. "Do you not like the shape? I can change it."

"Why is it shaped that way?" Cam asks.

He shrugs, fanning his wings. "A whim."

Cam shrugs and bites into it.

It is possibly even more delicious than Jellybean.

"Nnnnnng," says Cam, and he asks the fruit for its seeds please thank you.

The fruit is happy to give them up! Aianon smiles.

Cam pockets the seeds. "This," he says, "is fantastic, thank you."

"You are welcome," says Aianon, and hugs him. Arms, wings, and tail.

"It is made for you," says Aianon. "I will make another one for other humans, if you want. One with a more pleasing shape."

"It won't taste nice for other people?"

"It will taste nice for other people who are like you in how they taste things."

Cam laughs. "I have a business, at home," he says. "I'm branching out since I minted, but the primary business is still seeds for useful plants."

"I like to make useful plants!" says Aianon.

"Cool. If you feel like it sometime you should check out Syntropy, make some plants. These," Cam says, patting his pocket, "since they're for me and all, I think I'll just grow 'em in my yard and not for commercial use."

"They will be happy to grow for you. I don't know what it is like where you might plant them, so I made them adaptable."

"Thoughtful of you," says Cam. "I'm thinking they'll be conspicuous around the Seedling office and I have no idea what Renée will think of them in her yard - besides, the tree that's already there is a jerk - so it's probably about time I made my own space palace." He pauses. "I wonder if seeds made outside of Syntropy by non-Syntropy magic will grow up to be clever, in Syntropy. I guess I'll find out."

"They will make beautiful trees," he says.

"I hope they'll make happy trees."

"If they are not happy, send for me and I will help them."

"Unless they're smart and tell me not to, yeah."

He shrugs.

"Well," says Cam, licking his fingers, "thank you, it was delicious."

He beams.

Now there is only Brilliance to wait for to correct wretched asymmetry.

Brilliance comes along eventually!

Cam repeats the same lines. They worked so well last time.

"Should we fix that? Let's fix that!"

"Do let's. C'mere."

"Yep!"

"You've got a bit of aura coming in," Cam observes idly.

"Ooh," he says. "Is it doing anything fun yet?"

"Nope, just - being an aura."

"I better get on that, then," he says, and he kisses Cam cheerfully and wanders off to snag a channel.

Cam kisses his Jellybean goodbye. Very thoroughly. And he goes home to make himself a space palace. His is going to be on Mercury, not quite within shouting distance of Sol but still nearby.

+Will I be alarmed by your surroundings if I teleport to where you're at right now?+

Port!

"It's beautiful," she breathes.

"I know," he says, and kisses her.

"You're beautiful. Wow."

He beams. Fairly literally.

Hugs. Fascinated open-eyed hugs. She lets her aura free to see if they'll combine at all, the way Angela's and Micaiah's can.

Alas, they don't. But Brilliance's is spectacular enough even without help.

It's true! Aurora tucks hers away again; she finds the threat-gauge feature distracting when she's not using it.

Snuggle snuggle!

"...Hey, you know how you are my Barrier Jacket? Do you suppose you can aura out of it?"

"Ooh," he says. "Let's find out!"

"Go for it."

Bella conjures up a mirror to have a look. "Awesome," she says, beaming fiercely.

She kisses the end of Brilliance-the-staff.

He giggles.

"What'd the demon-and-dragon get?"

"Aura of comfy," he says, transforming back to human shape and hugging her. "People nearby them are more comfortable."

"Probably handy for a guy who looks about to invite you to sell him your soul."

Brilliance snickers.