I really hope it blows over.

I really think it will.

"Good." Is he done carving the bow yet?

Not quite, and then he'll need to string it, but it's coming along. He's doing a lot of detail work to make it pretty.

Gosh, that sure is pretty. She's certainly not going to complain.

I carry a spare bowstring or this'll take much longer. As it stands I should be done by the Mingling.

I was wondering how that part was going to work. He can multitask, right? So they can practice Quenya until then.

Yep, he can talk and carve. And he's done by the Mingling.

It's lovely. People back home don't take enough pride in craftsmanship, apparently.

She is not going to do anything other than hold it until she has instructions on how to do so safely.

This is good of her but she's not likely to do anything worse than break it - And he guesses the string could snap in her face. Firing an arrow in the wrong direction is an advanced mistake to make. Anyway, he can show her how to use it. Do they both want to learn?

Imliss doesn't so much actively desire to learn this particular thing as have a principle against turning down lessons in skills.

She's going to get on so well with Tyelcormo's family. Well, he will not touch her as possessively as he touches Idaia while teaching how to fire a bow, but he'll happily teach her, too, and explain the principles at work and why he chose this wood and what affects a bow's draw weight and so forth.

She pays attention to all of it and practices dutifully but it's kind of obvious she finds the principles at work more interesting than actually firing  the thing.

Idaia is entirely pleased with the actual practice. And with the possessive touching.

They're both picking it up, though. He's experienced at teaching this. No shooting dinner for a long time, though, he says, not until you can reliably kill an animal with one shot.

The thought hadn't specifically crossed her mind, but it is in retrospect completely obvious. Of course you shouldn't do that.

Some people occasionally try. It's really wrong but they just don't think.

People doing terrible things out of thoughtlessness isn't something Paradise obviates? I suppose it couldn't be, it does after all still contain people.

Orome can fix it. But yeah, people aren't prevented from being awful, even if they mostly aren't awful.

I think malice is a little easier to teach against than carelessness.

Maybe.

We have a saying in Kilaiuossa; Never attribute to malice what is explicable by stupidity.

I've been attributing the whole mess in Tirion to stupidity but lately we've been wondering if there's some malice in it.

Oh?

Just seems a little too neat, I don't know, how fast they turned on us. Maybe the Enemy's helping them, though that's a mean thing to say.