"And you don't regret that? Even after he messed up?"

"I mean, even if it had been binding it was phrased to give someone an out if they couldn't condone their leaders' actions anymore. I don't know if I would have taken that. But yes, I don't regret it. I was upset with him for a long time--still am, a little, to be honest, but I can put it aside--but he's family. I can be upset and still love him and be on his side."

He hugs her.

She hugs back. "It was really awful, watching him get shoved into corner after corner and seeing people get mad at him when he failed to react with perfect grace. I was upset with him for burning the boats but I was also really upset with the people who'd pushed him to the point where that seemed like a good idea at the time. I'm really glad the stuff that happened to him isn't going to happen to you."

"I'm really really really glad there are people who love him anyway."

"Everyone deserves people they can count on unconditionally," she says, sounding like she's quoting something.

"Have you told him you still love him because I don't think he knows."

"...Well, I told Caranthir I loved him, but I have not specifically said it to Feanor."

Hugs. "I bet he will be very surprised and very relieved."

Hugs. "Does the earwire work if the person using it doesn't have osanwe or subtle arts or what-have-you but the person on the other end does, or should I get you to relay it, or get his phone number...?"

"I think it'll work for you too as long as the party you're calling has osanwë. It shouldn't be too hard to design a version that works for voice calls, either, that's what magic mirrors in Materia do, just wasn't a meaningful design constraint when I put these together."

He rattles off his phone number. "Yeah, the earwire works for Bella. But phones are cool -" and he launches into an explanation of how they work.

"Phones are, in fact, cool," says Imliss, who already knows how they work, and she calls Feanor.

"Hello?"

"Hi, it's me. I talked to little-you and he said you'd probably be surprised and relieved that I still loved you?"

There's a moment's silence on the line. 

"How did that come up?"

"We were talking about Oaths and I said I was glad I don't swear bindingly even though I don't regret anything I have sworn and he asked me what I'd sworn and I told him I swore fealty to you after the Darkening and he asked me if I really didn't regret that even though you messed up and I said that I had in fact been upset but you're family and I can be upset and still love you and be on your side and he hugged me and I said watching awful things happen to you and you fail to respond to them in the best possible way and people blame you for it sucked and I was glad none of that stuff was going to happen to him and he said he was gladder that you still had people who loved you anyway and I quoted that one time you said everyone deserves people they can count on unconditionally at him and he asked if I told you I still love you because he didn't think you knew and I told him I'd told Caranthir I loved him while I was talking to him but hadn't mentioned it to you specifically and he said you'd be surprised and relieved."

"I love you too, Imliss. I am eager to see you all."

"I was honestly kind of surprised that you'd doubt I did 'cause the way I've been framing it--you made a mistake, and people reacted badly, and--and things escalated and a lot of people died including you and I, I already lost one family to that..."

"I - I guess I'd forgotten that there were people who weren't like that -"

"Like what?"

"Inclined to react the way most people did towards your parents, and to my family..."

"I think we had forgotten that too, before we got hit by a giant snake and met Tyelcormo." She sighs. "I love you. I miss you. I'm really glad I'm going to see you again soon."

"If you have not been assured of this already, we did not know you were still in Araman."

"It seemed pretty obvious. Even if I was insufficiently secure that you cared about us we would have been super useful for the war, what with the free will and the magic powers."