He's okay with it, just - needs to feel like he's not running down limited tolerance, or inspiring resentment, or burning someone out. 

Mm.

And my first instinct there is to ask how I can convince them that they aren't doing that with me, but - not sure they're actually wrong about the burning out thing, if they're noticing signs of that. Sigh. Lean. I think I have more endurance than they're giving me credit for but that's a solution to a different problem than this one.

Yeah. Most people would get burned out. Angband is horrible. It's going to take him a while to be okay. That shouldn't all fall on one person.

Yeah. Sigh. Fucking Angband.

They do seem to have decided it's not worth trying to keep things from you, at least. They are, from their siblings, for reasons that seem like they at least might be good ones, but that's still going to be hard for me to deal with.

Hugs.

Yes, lots of those.

It really could be worse? A Speaker can stand in for a healer, in a pinch like this, we have a lot of the same skills. But it's not all the same skills, or the same approach - I don't have the experience with someone who's fragile like that, or impaired and doesn't have good ways of accommodating it yet, or so early in the post-tramua transition period that there's no real way to know what they'll be like afterward. There's ways of dealing with those well, but I don't know them. And - I'm learning, I think I'm actually doing pretty well, so far, considering, but it's hard, seeing the problems so clearly and not knowing how to solve them, or not really having good solutions.

I think you're learning a lot really fast. I think you're doing really well. But 'never hurting each other' is probably too much for either of you to be expecting from yourselves.

Mm. Lap kobold? Lap kobold. But there's not managing to never hurt them and then there's... a tight hug, and a memory of Maitimo, shaking, trying to hold it together and just not.

I'm not even sure I could have done anything better, there.

Yeah. The Enemy did that, not you.

Wish it actually felt like that. She clings.

Hugs. More quiet singing. It's a happy song, sung sadly, a bit odd.

She joins in, once she has enough of an idea of how it goes. She's not much more relaxed, afterward, but it seems to have helped anyway.

We're really lucky you're here.

Sigh. I hope so. Lot of people died to get us here. I'm not sure if it was right to try.

Mm. Don't know. But I have a pretty good idea of how I'd be if you weren't, and how Maitimo'd be if I was like that... not saying it was worth what it cost you, but. Hug.

Hug. I'm glad I'm here.

Yeah.

She's pretty content to just sit there for a while, snuggling.

There is kind of a lot of work to do but he can mostly answer inquiries over osanwë while holding her.

Osanwë: so convenient.

Eventually: I probably shouldn't go back for dinner - I'll check, but - have you had people gathering yet, are there vegetables and soup-making supplies I can use? If not I can go forage, I just need to know.

We have people gathering, I don't know if they'll have what you need - he checks - should be fine.

Thanks. And I can eat here, whatever you have is fine - or not if you're still short on food, missing a meal won't hurt me much.

We can find enough food here, we'll be alright. And you've been feeding us for a while. By all means make yourself something - or I can have someone bring us something -

I'm fine for now, lunch wasn't that long ago, just wanted to make sure you had time for logistics if you needed it.

We'll be okay. You have sped us up tremendously.

That gets a little grin. Yeah. Magic is pretty excellent like that. - I've been working on the magic-vision spell, I have a couple of effects picked out to probably use, want to see?

I'd love to!