Then I won't mention the habits I keep at home to him, I suppose. Well, your father. Mandos - I don't think I get a choice.

I don't think my father'd judge you. A society that takes such things so lightly would have been much better for his family than the one we ended up in. If anything he'd find it painful to hear that there's a so much less destructive way. It would bother him if we - well, I probably should not pick up several wives, but I think I will manage to restrain the temptation.

After all, what would your boyfriend or whatever think.

There's a question! Would it be a romantic betrayal of the real Findekáno if I asked you to bring me your simulacrum of Findekáno? Would he be jealous? What would you let me do to your simalcrum-Findekáno, would he pretend to be in love with me?

What a fucking tragic rendezvous that would be, and your ability to consent is extremely dubious. I know that I prefer it when my partners think I am real and vice-versa but Findekáno knows where you are and if I tell him you're asking for him I think he'll probably get here as fast as his legs can carry him and I don't care to speculate in detail about the afterwards, I'm not a voyeur. If one of you were a girl is the soul graft fakeable too?

...no, actually, I don't think it is. Anything Eru does, Moringotto will fall short in imitating. Do you think I should get married for evidence that this is real?

To whom?

If my father asked for volunteers he'd have hundreds, I'm sure.

You do seem very popular. I can go fetch you a sheaf of proposals, if in the event this is in fact real you want to be permanently married to someone of those hundreds. My read on Findekáno is that if it helps you it's all to the good, anyway.

Wouldn't work or you don't want to be married?

I realized that there is a way to fake it after all.

Fucking spoofable telepathy. How would that work?

No, not exactly. You couldn't make me think I was married if I wasn't. You have other Elven prisoners, and you could certainly force one of them.

You and Rodyn were the only ones I saw alive, but maybe there's others indoors. Right. Eugh.

There are.

There'd have to be, come to think of it, manufacturing orcs - I suppose 'more mind control' is the explanation for how a species immune to unwanted children can be used to manufacture orcs, isn't it.

You would know better than I.

I wouldn't, but I suppose I can see if Vár knows if I'm feeling really morbid one day. I don't suppose there's any sort of personal signature to the soul-bond and that it's unspoofable to third parties too? Could I march married couples of your acquaintance past you until it's simply implausible that the Enemy'd have them all on hand?

Seeing that someone else is married is like seeing anything else about them, it's just sensory input and can be falsified. You really think Findekáno would come if I asked for him?

I do think it. He might need to wait for a quiet moment to get away, but it'd be easier now than it has been; they're camped in a comfortable valley with wild turkeys - hence breakfast - and going to stay for a little while.

Wistful amusement. No. I might relent on that after a few centuries of loneliness, though.

Sigh.

What's it to you?