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Finnah's just arrived at work to open the store for the morning shift; she has her apron on but hasn't put her hair up yet. She lets in the customer who always takes half an angle to determine that he wants four buttercreams, again, and then nips into the back to tend to her hair and check the overnight progress of the rock candy.
This isn't the back.
But that -
No, he's too tall to be Mial, if this is a Mial prank it's a stupidly elaborate one.
"Okay, I give up," she says, "what the hell?"
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isthisart
Linya doesn't consider this exciting enough to interrupt the conversation Koridaar is having with Avar.
thisvorlunatic
Mial is the first to be eliminated from the pegs game. He glowers at his alts and mutters nasty things under his breath.
A mere few turns afterward, Miles beats Stalas. "Ha! I win, you bastards!"
"Bastard yourself," growls Stalas. "My grandfather never tried to kill me."
"No, but your brother did," Miles retorts.
"I win 'no attempted murder by relatives'," Mial cuts in.
They set up for another game immediately.
A mere few turns afterward, Miles beats Stalas. "Ha! I win, you bastards!"
"Bastard yourself," growls Stalas. "My grandfather never tried to kill me."
"No, but your brother did," Miles retorts.
"I win 'no attempted murder by relatives'," Mial cuts in.
They set up for another game immediately.
unmarred
Mark watches this in fascination.
"I think I might have started something I won't be able to stop," he says. "Also, if anyone was wondering, any non-Miles trying to take sides at this point would be an extraordinarily bad idea."
"I think I might have started something I won't be able to stop," he says. "Also, if anyone was wondering, any non-Miles trying to take sides at this point would be an extraordinarily bad idea."
"Why?" asks Finnah. She is still sitting on Mial.
unmarred
"They've escalated to unforgivable sniping. Well, 'unforgivable' might be a little strong. Very nasty sniping, anyway. Which they allow each other by virtue of being alts, but any outsider stepping into that crossfire disturbs the balance and makes it all hurt again."
Finnah decides to stop being on Mial. She flies away and shifts midair, feet on the ground. "Weird," she says.
unmarred
"I was right," he adds, "Mial is pushing harder than the other two."
"And they're ganging up on him," says Finnah.
unmarred
"Yeah. That part might stabilize out, though. Even the other thing might, given enough time. You may have noticed that when a Miles is pushed he tends to push back."
"Nooooo, really?" Finnah flops into a chair.
middlingalong
Meanwhile, Ivan and Aurin are telling each other about their respective current girlfriends.
middlingalong
Vivienne's virtues have already been spoken; Siya, apparently, likes to fly, and plays the huan (an instrument) and amisro (a sport), the latter of which comes with a uniform that Aurin appreciates very much. She doesn't like kids but does like drakes and is currently between pet ones after her prior one succumbed to old age; Aurin is considering getting her one for Hearthnight. It is her favorite holiday and she's planning to be in a parade for it.
middlingalong
"Is this topic of conversation really that interesting to you?" Ivan wonders in Mark's direction.
middlingalong
"I mean, I suppose if you're coming back to Barrayar you might meet Vivienne eventually but I can't imagine that this would be particularly useful prep work," says Ivan. "Is this just 'Ivans are fascinating, even when they're going on about total strangers to make point by point comparisons'?"
middlingalong
"I find this very peculiar," says Aurin.
"You and me both," says Ivan. "But it's not absolute! He was pleased to have missed the one of us who was six."
"You and me both," says Ivan. "But it's not absolute! He was pleased to have missed the one of us who was six."
unmarred
Mark gives a little shudder. "Children. No thank you. Not even a child Ivan. Especially not a child Ivan."
middlingalong
"He was adorable, and very well behaved if I do say so myself," says Ivan. "His cousins were yelling and he was perfectly content to play whirligig. Children on Easy Mode."