"You know," he says, "in retrospect that was a really impressive speech you pulled out in Lórien on such a time limit."

"Had to try.

I mean, actually, it occurred to me briefly that perhaps I shouldn't try, in case you had been captured and I did have the ability to talk you out of your strategy and he could use whatever I said."

"We find ourselves in this weirdly symmetrical situation. I know you're out because you got rescued before I got captured, but it's always possible he got you again somehow - you know I'm out because I was out when you got captured but it's always possible he actually got me after that, which he did, and that my rescue is just part of your hallucination -"

"The question you asked me when I was first 'rescued', about whether I could be sure I was alone in a hallucination -"

"And you couldn't. It... concerns me."

"It was probably wrong to try to snap you out of it. I don't think it was wrong to let your alts try, they were - just demonstrating a capability they had anyway, if they're not real..."

Sigh. Nuzzle. "Yeah. I guess it's better to know they can do it."

"If the Enemy has access to your thoughts anyway you might as well not be miserably bored. You can turn it back on again next time the torture starts - how does that work, by the way, I'd be delighted to not form instinctive associations under the circumstances, not to mention being less entertaining, but I don't even know how I'd go about turning it off..."

"It's - the input does not constitute information. It's just happening. It's noise, I don't have to participate in it, I can abdicate the idea that there's any steering to do... It, it hurts but it can't teach me anything. - It's not perfect. I'd still fall apart if you actually started hurting me, way out of proportion. But I'm not going to flinch if you move because I haven't absorbed anything horrible about what that's supposed to mean. Just noise."

"Oh, Kib.

I wish I could promise I'm not going to hurt you but I - if he's really got you - I had an opening to kill other prisoners, a few times, I took it -"

"If I wake up fifteen again and remember you doing that I'll forgive you," murmurs Kib.

"Thanks. Well, aren't we a merry couple."

"Ever so."

"Can you - talk? About whatever you'd like, just - be okay at me, it's very soothing -"

"It was nice when you sang to me. You and Findekáno. I was almost not bored, when somebody was singing."

"Should've guessed that and made sure there was always someone singing."

"Aydanci sang sometimes too. He's not an Elf but he was brought up thereby, he can do it all right. Round-the-clock wouldn't have improved things much, I might've gotten sick of it to the extent I could get sick of things that weren't actively unpleasant."

"What could we have done -"

"You did really well under the circumstances! I was simply not going to be having a lovely time with my brain not involved."

"Well. Now you've got it back and can have a lovely time forever, if this is real."

"That'd be nice."

Kisses. Aydanci had kept cutting Kib's hair for him. He runs his hands through it and sighs.

D'you want to take over cutting my hair again?

If you'd like.

It was cute. I guess I don't know if it'd still be cute.