With osanwe, it's impossible to intercept a message not directed at you and unless the Enemy's controlling you totally it's impossible to fake one.

That's convenient.

I could let them come here, if you're okay with that.

No.

If you work for the Enemy you could take them prisoner.

Okay.

Also they'd want to hug me.

Her breath catches a little. Yeah. I can talk to them about that, if you want?

I could too. It's easier for them just not to be near me.

Nod. I think one of us will have to have to tell them something sooner or later, though. I don't think I can convince them that I can't bring them here.

I'm going to tell them the whole truth right away, don't worry.

Okay.

They'll have more information than me with which to assess whether you're working for the Enemy, if they're real.

Mmhmm.

And if they're not real there's no harm in explaining what I'm supposed to believe recently happened.

Nod.

That still leaves them probably wanting to see you in person, not through a portal, though. Which isn't an unsolvable problem - if you need me to I can just refuse to let them come and not even explain; it might cause problems later but I can handle that, probably - but it kind of is one.

I'm their commander. If I need to order them not to bother you about it I will.

She chuckles. I hope we can manage to be a little more diplomatic about it than that. But if it comes down to it, sure, very reasonable.

My brothers would actually be relieved if I were giving orders because they'd take it as a sign I wanted a lot of things I used to want.

Nod.

We can play it off as me needing my own space. That's not even slightly true, but if you're not going back there anyway it'll be easy to pretend.

I don't really mind telling them 'I was repeatedly raped and don't react well to people in my space even if they look like you because sometimes they did look like you', we don't have to lie.

Blink.

Okay.

They might very well mind that.

Yeah, I know. That might be a reason to lie. I think usually I'd want to not upset them.

Nod.

I think you being that up front about it might bother them as much as that it happened and is still affecting things. There are gentler ways of saying it, if it turns out to need to be said. Or of saying things close to that that they might guess from but they can still let themselves believe it wasn't that bad if they need to.

I think they'd probably want that. I don't care. We can do it your way.

I hadn't been assuming you'd be okay with them knowing. If you are... something like, you've had a lot of things happen that you didn't have control over, and you need that to not happen any more, and that means nobody should touch you unless you ask them to? That's not how you'd say it but it doesn't seem like the kind of thing you'd say, I'm imagining I'd be saying it for you.

Yeah, you keep assuming I secretly have preferences about things and so you are going to probably keep predicting me wrong. I can say, hmm, that I want to see them again when I'm well enough to be sure I'm really safe and to walk around.