"...far as I know? Your father said you'd been reading into the letters, I don't peek so I don't know what you're picking up on..."

"Maedhros is being very Fëanorian at me, in the us-against-the-world way they get when they decide that the occasion calls for choosing between those things, and I cannot piece together why but I've been anxious."

"I have no idea what that's about. That's concerning."

"Yep. If all's well at home that can't be it. Maybe he's just in a mood."

"Do you want me to ask? Or, I suppose, convey a letter in which you ask."

"I have asked. A dozen different ways. I have not gotten an answer, which could mean that there isn't anything or that he's decided to lie about it."

"Huh. If I figure it out I'll let you know unless there is some reason not to, I suppose."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

He gestures vaguely in the direction of Angband. "And good luck."

"Thanks."

He drums his fingers on the ramparts of his fortress and doesn't move until long after she's departed.

And she goes home and gets back into her routine.

A year passes. A few Men have managed to pass electrical engineering.

Good for them! She is proud.

No one speaks Quenya around her, though she's pretty sure they're still speaking it the rest of the time.

Well, as long as she can tell Elu that as far as she knows nobody has spoken it to her she certainly doesn't care.

The Elves are too busy to interrupt her, though always ready to talk if she interrupts them. They've grown grudgingly enthusiastic about Men doing printing.

Good. (She encourages Men to pick up other skills as interest them, though she does not solicit institutional help in making this convenient at Quendi expense; but they will be older and less negligibly experienced with time.) The eldest Men's children are old enough for some systematic education to stick, that should be addressed in-species to the extent possible, make sure they all know how to read and have things to read and can shadow people at useful occupations.

Fëanor is not set to come out of accelerated time again for two more years.

Isn't anybody weirded out by seeing that little of him? Huh.

Elves. And he responds promptly to written inquiries, and issues relevant and timely rulings. And his sons make up for it by being everywhere; she sees them several times a week. They flit between work crews filling in for people, they buy things at the stores, Maglor holds concerts every month. The general consensus is that the King is in any event good at engineering and Maedhros good at king-ing so the division of labor seems very fair.

Maedhros constantly resists the temptation to point out that with the memory necklaces, they could already all do that if Loki actually preferred they be able to. He does not give the slightest indication of holding this opinion, except in the tone of long letters to Fingon who probably knows him well enough to notice there's something.

Well, she's not a mindreader.