"...why don't you check if it stays gone - I'd take the tradeoff in a heartbeat but -"

Nod.

Tap.

"...nope, still clear.

That means we can rescue orcs. ...unless the attachment-thing also sticks when the artifact is removed, I suppose, then we still sort of can but it's more complicated - their oaths don't let them do anything to get out of them so we wouldn't have permission -"

"It'd be easier to decide if we had any clue how it filtered..."

"Well, it permits at least the incompatibility level 'she's a mass murderer who not only can't handle anyone touching her but also will assume anyone who wants to is a hallucinatory Thauron', so that's not promising. I guess if you decide you would have gotten on with my sister if you'd met her before the oath we could be optimistic that it filters at least a little and just fails to account for oaths and trauma?"

"Aren't orcs going to have pretty high concentrations of oaths and trauma?"

"Yes, yes, they are. ...in fact, just a rescued orc bonding to a non-oath-blanked and not-reachable orc would be a sufficient disaster."

"Yeah."

"Ugh. I'm just - so tired of killing people and for a second when the oath snapped - 

- ugh, telling Rirosseth about this is going to be extremely complicated -"

"...because I can only transfer by touch?"

"No, because - the whole narrative she's expecting is 'somehow, circumstances contrive to make it necessary that she pursue a relationship and then it turns out to be with Thauron.' And 'hey, you can make the oath go away you just might have to take this artifact that will make you fall in magic love -'"

"It might not stick her to anybody. Unless it's reciprocal, which it might be."

"Yeah. And it's worth it even if it does, it just - do you want her to be magically in love with you, if that is what it does -"

"I - yeah -" Annie wraps her arms around herself. "If I manage to think of it as neutral otherwise, I don't want it to happen if she wouldn't want it to -"

"Okay."

"I mean, nonmagical would be better, but that's not happening."

"I'm sorry. I can't imagine how traumatic this all is, and how unfair to you on every level -"

"It is not the best week I have ever had."

"Do you want a hug?"

Nod.

Hug. "Normally when things are really hard for someone I sing for them, but. Um."

"I mean, I guess you could go off somewhere and I could borrow your ears?"

"Seems less useful at soothing than hugging you, but maybe we can try it on some later occasion."

Nod. Sigh.

"I keep having this impulse to defend my sister to you which is ridiculous because you are apparently in love with her but - I guess it's like - it's not reasons, it's -"