I should stay far away from her because I really don't want to argue with her about my choices, and same with Grandfather, but I want to catch up on what's been going on since my point of departure and I want to talk to Kelora. Unless she's going to argue with me about my choices.

She really, really isn't. We can catch you up on current events and you can talk to Kelora.

Kelora gave me suggestions.

...Sun-dark is stunned speechless.

Dawn-shining takes one look at his alt's face and starts giggling uncontrollably.

It was pretty funny.

I clearly really need to talk to Kelora!

That can be arranged.

He kind of wants to snuggle his alt and his alt's husband for a while longer and maybe have sex with them again and generally luxuriate in there not being a war on. But he's done plenty of that already. If he lets himself get too comfortable it'll be that much harder to go through with his decision.

Should he take that as a reason to get comfortable? Should he spend a few weeks living his life and then revisit the question when he's more settled?

He thinks about it, and concludes: no. All the reasons for his choice will still be true in a few weeks, and they'll still outweigh the lure of effortless comfort, but the lure of effortless comfort will have a stronger pull. He'll have a harder time with it but he won't have any useful new insights that he should fairly be taking into consideration. Given that, it's better to go as soon as possible.

Dawn-shining hugs his alt and then kisses his husband.

Okay, let's get dressed and go find Kelora.

Kelora, predictably, is in her study.

She raises her eyebrows at the Taliars.

"Raika-seren Taliar," he says, touching his misty silver soul where it hangs around his neck. "Pleased to meet you, Princess."

"That's... certainly an evocative soulname," she says.

"Did you hear? There's another me. So Taliar decided there should be another him. Only - it wouldn't work if we were betting it'd work out wonderfully."

She nods slowly.

"Yes. After how his first encounter with Nuime went, I imagine it wouldn't. Well."

She goes over and hugs Sun-dark, and hugs Dawn-shining, and then looks at Sun-dark consideringly and hugs him a second time.

"Good luck," she says. "Though I have every expectation you'll make your own."

He leans on her and smiles. Kelora is such a good friend.

She is.

"So what's this I hear about you giving Maitimo suggestions—"

"I thought it would be interesting. I was right."

"She has developed a new hobby and it is making me blush," says Dawn-shining, blushing.

"I find myself envying you again. That keeps happening. I had probably better get used to it," says Sun-dark.

"Don't worry," says Kelora, "I would be happy to make you blush too."

Awww.

"And yet, I don't appear to be blushing," he says.

She regards him consideringly.

Then, keeping an utterly straight face, she sends him her memory of Dawn-shining's memory of the first time he had sex with Maitimo on trust songs.