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Kiri stays away for weeks, and then she's back, and then she goes to the Ardelay house to learn her way around it and make (thoroughly advised) decisions about staff maintenance, and then she's back, and then she leaves again to be at the Chialto house, but this time Ko is allowed to go with her.
(At a safe distance.)
It's a long boring ride, or it would be boring, but Kiri has learned to make harmless fire-shapes in the air and entertains him with swirls and streamers of it crackling alongside the carriage until she decides to take a nap.
He's not going to be able to sleep in this carriage, it bumps too much, but he can scoot over and sort of nudge part of her onto his lap while she mumbles words.
(And then lurch away from her once she stops partway through "interior decoration".)
She smiles a sad smile at him like she always does when she wakes up and finds him halfway across the room. Or in this case, the carriage.
"You're not even huggy," he observes, on this occasion. "Not like Jayce is anyway." (Jayce is a very huggy little boy.)
She shrugs. "If I didn't have a family and it was just me, and distant Ardelay relatives I barely know, and stuff, then that would be fine probably. We just used to be next to each other all the time and now we can't. I don't need hugging, I just want my brothers."
Ko thinks about this, but doesn't get much of anywhere. Kiri's the smart one, all sweela, always thinking and writing. He isn't going to come up with a solution if she can't, probably.
"I could just try it again," he says.
"You didn't like it last time," she says.
"Yeah, but, you weren't mean about it or anything."
"Why would I be mean because you had to go to the bathroom?"
"I dunno." He fidgets, and looks out the window.
She makes a fire-dart that follows the path of his eyes.
They arrive in Chialto, and wait for the arrival of the prince.
liakoura
calescent
By the end of the trip there are enough yards of miscellaneous fabric slated for delivery to the Chialto Ardelay house that Kiri should be all set until she's grown two inches and can't wear any of it. "Good, that's over with. Thank you for helping."
liakoura
"I don't think I can do a whole shopping trip by myself yet but maybe in a while," says Aleko.
"I can do another one later if you need!" says the prince.
(If he hasn't run away by then, say the prince's thoughts.)
(If he hasn't run away by then, say the prince's thoughts.)
calescent
"I shouldn't need anything else until I've gotten taller, maybe in a year," says Kiri. "Unless I spend a lot more time in Chialto attending engagements and functions and such than I expect to."
liakoura
"But at least they aren't distracted by a whole lot of other kids when you don't get something and want it explained."
liakoura
"Yeah, but if I do want you to explain something you aren't like, 'just a minute, Aleko, I need to do sixty-seven other things' and then it's hours and I still don't get it."
The prince cannot actually remember the last time he asked a tutor to explain something. He judges that saying so would not be a positive contribution to the conversation.
liakoura
Not minutely enough, apparently.
Aleko glances between them and scowls ferociously and takes one large step in Kiri's direction, folding his arms.
Aleko glances between them and scowls ferociously and takes one large step in Kiri's direction, folding his arms.
The prince blinks at him. The stepping closer to Kiri seems like a sign of a good thing, but the scowling seems like a sign of the opposite. And he has no idea at all how to handle jealousy over this.
calescent
Kiri shuts her eyes.
After a moment she says:
"It's okay."
It's not immediately obvious which of them she's addressing.
After a moment she says:
"It's okay."
It's not immediately obvious which of them she's addressing.
If she was addressing the prince, he's really not sure what she meant. But he's glad she and Aleko seem to be okay, anyway.
calescent
Now that Kiri can read everyone who is in this room, she is the only person who has to talk, unless the boys want to address each other.
"Are you sure you want to do this now?" she asks her brother, and then, "Okay," and then, "Of course not. Never."
"Are you sure you want to do this now?" she asks her brother, and then, "Okay," and then, "Of course not. Never."
calescent
"Twin stuff," Kiri explains in his direction. "I'm sorry, I'm not being a very good host -"
liakoura
Aleko shakes his head, and when Kiri trails off, he says, "This is important and you can be a good host when we are not eight."