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Linya settles thoroughly in. The rest of her Barrayaran clothes filter in and she mixes and matches in Alys-approved ways. Cordelia continues to be welcoming; the Count continues to be more or less awkward (though she does catch him stifling a laugh the first time she has occasion to scoop up her husband in his presence). Tsipis continues to be marvelously helpful; between them they pick a factory that will be able to make pens for a reasonable bid, and she goes in to visit and makes sure they have everything right and decides what colors the chassis ought to come in (four standard colors, a dozen more available as custom order with optional engraving). She asks Cordelia what color she wants hers; since she doesn't want a complicated nib-end she can have the first one off the production line. For the complicated-nib version, Linya is still studying optics. She writes a letter to a local manufacturer of holoprojectors to see if they have any insight. She wraps up her study of Greek and starts on French - French, she already knew, but this is a different dialect with peculiar Barrayaran Cyrillic spelling rules, so it still requires nonzero effort.
Oh, and she snuggles her tiny Barrayaran. And makes music and has groats for breakfast roughly every other day.
Setting a date for a groat-related wedding as opposed to a groat-related breakfast is a little complicated, but they are formally, as it were, engaged.
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isthisart
isthisart
"And I can work on pen software and French just as well there as anywhere. Maybe bring in my keyboard, if there's a good way to transport it."
isthisart
Linya makes a note of this. "On an unrelated note, my estimate is that I'll know whether or not I'm ever going to be able to figure out your complicated nib in a couple of months - maybe sooner, but that's when I'll give up on it if it looks terribly unpromising."
isthisart
Linya holds her pen over her shoulder, takes a holo of her hair, and then brings it around to have a look. "Lovely," she pronounces.
thisvorlunatic
"I know," he says, somewhat smugly. "And almost done, too."
isthisart
"You have become extremely vain about my braids. It's really cute."
thisvorlunatic
"It's a legitimate demonstration of skill! And it means I get to contribute to making you even prettier than your astronomical baseline!"
thisvorlunatic
He braids her hair. Delightedly.
And after another minute or two - "All done! You've been waterfalled. Waterfallen? Whatever." He proceeds immediately to Hug.
And after another minute or two - "All done! You've been waterfalled. Waterfallen? Whatever." He proceeds immediately to Hug.
isthisart
And later on, Linya asks Cordelia about what she'll need to know about visiting Miles and possibly transporting her keyboard there to entertain him with while he is bored and flat.
greatcomposure
"Bored and flat. What an excellent description," says Cordelia. "Visiting hours usually correspond roughly to daylight, minus a four-hour block in the morning. I don't know offhand about the keyboard, but I feel confident we can get it in somehow."
isthisart
"All right then. I suppose it's not too bulky to just literally carry, if they'll let me leave it in his room and I only have to do it twice. I think I'll call them and ask."
isthisart
So Linya calls the hospital and asks. They say they will let her leave the keyboard in the room as long as she brings something with which to lock it to an immobile furnishing, since they don't have the insurance to replace it for her if somebody walks off with it. She buys a lock.
thisvorlunatic
The scheduled day arrives. The surgery goes well, according to the informational updates sent to Miles's family - no surprises. The day after, family members are permitted to visit.
isthisart
In goes Linya, hauling her keyboard and its lock. And she gets directions to Miles's room, and in she goes.
"Hey, you."
"Hey, you."
thisvorlunatic
"Hi," he says, producing a slightly strained smile. "Painkillers are my second favourite thing."
isthisart
Linya locks her keyboard to a decorative bar near the windowsill and then sits on the edge of his bed and smooths his hair. "I believe I shall take that directly as a compliment rather than attempting modesty."