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Ivan must be drunker than he thought he was. He could have sworn he knew his way around Vivienne's parents' house, since she wanted to introduce him last week and showed him the place, but maybe they have a... secret... upstairs... bar? where Vivienne's room is supposed to be? And most certainly was last time he checked? He's never going to find the sweater she sent him up looking for here, anyway. Why is there a secret upstairs bar in Vivienne's parents' house?
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thisvorlunatic
Now both Mileses are absently eating food while playing Strat-O and yelling at each other.
Nika goes and sits with her brother and peers at the game and eventually produces a suggestion.
thisvorlunatic
"No helping!" exclaims Little Miles. "If you help then I'm not beating him all by myself!"
...Grownup Miles can't help laughing. Yes, they are definitely alts. No one could possibly deny this.
...Grownup Miles can't help laughing. Yes, they are definitely alts. No one could possibly deny this.
isthisart
Nika tosses her head and goes back to her own alts, and this time she has enough cocoa in her not to be distracted from asking Linya:
"So she's from Vulcan which is some planet that isn't a planet in my world. Where are you from?"
"I travel a lot -"
"But where are you from?"
"Don't interrupt."
Nika just stares at her intently.
"I live on Barrayar like you, actually."
"Were you born there?"
"...No."
"So where were you born?"
"Eta Ceta."
"So she's from Vulcan which is some planet that isn't a planet in my world. Where are you from?"
"I travel a lot -"
"But where are you from?"
"Don't interrupt."
Nika just stares at her intently.
"I live on Barrayar like you, actually."
"Were you born there?"
"...No."
"So where were you born?"
"Eta Ceta."
washed-in-blood
"WHAT," yells Little Miles.
Bothari's jaw tightens slightly, but that's it.
Little Miles is less restrained. "Grownup me! Why's she Cetagandan? Did you know? Why didn't you say?"
Bothari's jaw tightens slightly, but that's it.
Little Miles is less restrained. "Grownup me! Why's she Cetagandan? Did you know? Why didn't you say?"
thisvorlunatic
"Maybe," suggests Grownup Miles, "I didn't say because I knew it would result in you shrieking like a teakettle."
isthisart
"I didn't like it on Cetaganda so I left," elaborates Linya. "I don't really talk to them anymore. I have not been back to visit in years."
"But still," says Nika.
"Nika, all the things you've heard about happened long before I was born."
Nika scoots closer to Isabella instead. Isabella checks her ponytail half-consciously.
"But still," says Nika.
"Nika, all the things you've heard about happened long before I was born."
Nika scoots closer to Isabella instead. Isabella checks her ponytail half-consciously.
thisvorlunatic
Little Miles glares ferociously at Grownup Miles.
Grownup Miles sighs.
"'Bad' and 'Cetagandan' are not synonymous. On my word, she's fine," he says.
"Fine," grumbles Little Miles. "But you better not have more weird stuff you're not telling me."
...ulp.
"You do!" says Little Miles, pointing accusingly at his alt. "You do have more weird stuff! Tell me all the weird stuff right now!"
Grownup Miles winces.
Grownup Miles sighs.
"'Bad' and 'Cetagandan' are not synonymous. On my word, she's fine," he says.
"Fine," grumbles Little Miles. "But you better not have more weird stuff you're not telling me."
...ulp.
"You do!" says Little Miles, pointing accusingly at his alt. "You do have more weird stuff! Tell me all the weird stuff right now!"
Grownup Miles winces.
isthisart
"What weird stuff?" agrees Nika indignantly.
"Can you be mature about the weird stuff?" Linya asks. "It's pretty weird."
"Stop keeping secrets!"
"Nika."
"...I'll try."
"Can you be mature about the weird stuff?" Linya asks. "It's pretty weird."
"Stop keeping secrets!"
"Nika."
"...I'll try."
thisvorlunatic
"No shrieking," says Grownup Miles firmly.
"Try'n stop me," says Little Miles.
"No shrieking or I just won't tell you the rest of the things."
"...No shrieking," agrees Little Miles, very grudgingly.
"All right," says Grownup Miles. He glances over at the Linya-cluster to see if Nika's grownups verify her as ready to hear weird things.
"Try'n stop me," says Little Miles.
"No shrieking or I just won't tell you the rest of the things."
"...No shrieking," agrees Little Miles, very grudgingly.
"All right," says Grownup Miles. He glances over at the Linya-cluster to see if Nika's grownups verify her as ready to hear weird things.
warpfairy
Isabella returns Linya's hair tie and tucks her hair behind her ears.
middlingalong
"Elf!" says Tiny Ivan.
"...Alien," corrects Big Ivan. "Well, half-alien."
"...Alien," corrects Big Ivan. "Well, half-alien."
thisvorlunatic
"You could've just said," grumbles Little Miles.
"Probably not, no," says Grownup Miles. "You're just saying that because you don't get to yell about it."
"Probably not, no," says Grownup Miles. "You're just saying that because you don't get to yell about it."
warpfairy
"My father was a Vulcan. The species is native to the planet I was born on. My mother is human."
"...that's cool actually," says Nika. "That's why you can read minds?"
"Yes."
"...that's cool actually," says Nika. "That's why you can read minds?"
"Yes."
isthisart
"And, let's see, what else before the big one... there's another Miles upstairs. He's from a world with actual magic. He's a dwarf."
"The magic kind of dwarf," Nika clarifies.
"Yes."
"That's also pretty cool."
"The magic kind of dwarf," Nika clarifies.
"Yes."
"That's also pretty cool."
thisvorlunatic
"What's the big one?" demands Little Miles.
"We're getting there," Grownup Miles says wearily.
"We're getting there," Grownup Miles says wearily.
warpfairy
"Grownup Miles's little brother Mark is upstairs too. And Mark is a half-alt of my husband Lalita, even though they don't look anything alike. Half-alts is like there's - two people's worth of personality in Mark, and Lalita has one of the halves for himself."
thisvorlunatic
"That's not that weird really," says Little Miles.
"Lalita's the one with the magic blood," Grownup Miles adds helpfully.
"Good for him," says Little Miles, although he does appear to find this information genuinely mollifying. "What else?"
"Lalita's the one with the magic blood," Grownup Miles adds helpfully.
"Good for him," says Little Miles, although he does appear to find this information genuinely mollifying. "What else?"
middlingalong
"Grownup Miles is married, too," says Big Ivan, when no one else jumps on the revelation.
"But you aren't, right?" asks Tiny Ivan. "It's weird enough that you kiss girls."
"I am not married."
thisvorlunatic
"So what if grownup Miles is married," says Little Miles. "Who's he married to? His brother or something?"
...Miles cracks up.
"No," he says between giggles. "Not Mark."
...Miles cracks up.
"No," he says between giggles. "Not Mark."
thisvorlunatic
...Little Miles makes a dramatically disgusted face.
"Eeeeeeeeewwwwwwwwwwww. That's almost as bad."
"But not actually as bad," says grownup Miles.
"Well. I guess not. She's not your sister. She's Cetagandan."
"Eeeeeeeeewwwwwwwwwwww. That's almost as bad."
"But not actually as bad," says grownup Miles.
"Well. I guess not. She's not your sister. She's Cetagandan."
isthisart
"But you're a me!" exclaims Nika.
"I'm a Cetagandan you. I can check just how not-related we are if you want to see. And we didn't know anything about alts or other worlds until today, so we couldn't really take it into account."
"But you're a me and he's a my brother."
"Nika, you're adopted anyway."
"But he's my BROTHER."
"Too bad."
"I'm a Cetagandan you. I can check just how not-related we are if you want to see. And we didn't know anything about alts or other worlds until today, so we couldn't really take it into account."
"But you're a me and he's a my brother."
"Nika, you're adopted anyway."
"But he's my BROTHER."
"Too bad."