Okay. Is there a preliminary protocol or is even that still in the works?

If you direct osanwe at someone it shouldn't go to an impersonator. Speak only over osanwe, don't direct it at 'the person I'm speaking with' but at the person you're expecting to be speaking to - that's just a matter of mental habit - more to be announced.

Okay.

The next thing to be announced is the location where they're building a city. Once the walls are up they'll escort the civilians inland and there. 

And finally, after an hour or so, Findekáno - Kib, you all right?

Slightly at loose ends, unclear on political implications of dead King, repeating the number 'ten thousand' in my head more than is probably healthy, otherwise fine.

Yeah, Maitimo's repeating the names. Political implications are that Fëanáro's king except everyone knows he won't really be very good at it so when he's not half-suicidal with grief we shall have a go at gently suggesting to him he just pass on the crown. One of my brothers is dead. One of my father's sisters is dead. If you want to come install lighting in the city, that'd be useful.

On my way. I assume everything's going to be mad for a bit and comforting you in person will have to wait a while.

Probably. Stupidly - my parents are clinging to each other and no one's even raised an eyebrow - but yeah, probably. 

Mandos had better do his job.

Be the least he can do.

Love you.

Love you.

And the city is built in a few whirlwind months. It's pretty. Not as pretty as Tirion but pretty enough that a human who hadn't seen Elven architecture would find it jawdropping and the Elves can pass through it without discomfort. It doesn't have a palace, but it has conference rooms with bedrooms underneath them, and because of the design you can get from one to another quite easily, and they have three adjacent. There are shines on the walls with curtains drawn across them. to create the appearance they're not in a enchanted stone underground bunker.

Yay. He's helping.

The civilians are also going to underground bunkers. He can make Aydanci's family a really nice one.

He does that. Of the reservations Kib has about Aydanci being raised by Elves, the obligatory pretty environment isn't one of them.

They hold a festival to celebrate completing and naming the city. Mistaringe, they're calling it, after the neighboring lake. It is a three-hour festival. Fëanáro is not enthusiastic about wasting time.

Macalaure sings. It's pretty.

And then finally they can retreat to their completed rooms and take an actual day off.

Three hours is an actual reasonable duration for a festival!

Kib is deeply conscious of his strategic value and has a bodyguard golem around pretty much all the time, but 'around' can be out in the hallway.

Hey. How are you doing?

Holding together. You?

He collapses onto the bed. I can't tell if my aversion to any form of self-care or seeking to address my own needs when there are people dying on my command is a weakness, it doesn't seem to be impairing but I am not positive I'd notice.

Holding together is a good word for it.

Flop. Not sure it's a good idea to find out empirically if it's impairing.

No. But not sure it's a good time to amuse myself with the stakes this high.

I get to soak up a fair amount of things that are technically indulgences for me just by living around Elves, I don't psychologically depend on beauty and music the same way and yet here they are, but I don't think there's an equivalent for you.

Well, there's you. 

Kib snuggles up. Yes there is. Although I'm a less ambient feature of the environment.

I know! I have to do all this seeking you out and be seductive. It's terrible. Clearly for the sake of maintaining my morale I should just keep my boyfriends around being pretty ambient environmental features, except for some reason both of them have valuable things to do with their time. 

Well, I suppose people could parade golem chassis past me to awaken while I leaned decoratively on a wall.