Oh good. I love you. I want you to have me exactly the way you want me.

I have no idea what I want but think I will enjoy figuring it out.

That works too.

He is delighted with his confusing unasked for present.

That's good! His confusing unasked-for present is delighted with him right back. So delighted. So incredibly wonderfully delighted.

That's good. Maintenance of the unasked-for present accomplished.

He is not sure how to get to the delight that his alt seems to feel. But maybe someday.

Afterward, when he can move again, he curls up cozily and his mind drifts a little and he contemplates immortality and—

—he can't figure out how Elaneth-imire did it?

He's got to be missing something. That kind of fundamental change in the soul should shine like a beacon as soon as he so much as glances down the right mental path - it should be obvious, and it's not. He has no idea what the trick was. He can guess that it involved committing to stay with Tivarante forever, but none of the ways he can think of to do that are the right way. Bizarre.

Maybe he should consult Elaneth-imire - then again, maybe he shouldn't, because he's going to feel like it's terribly unfair if it turns out that the answer is something about Tivarante and Elaneth-imire's circumstances that they can't duplicate - maybe he had to be facing the threat of death by evil god to get desperate enough... well. Raika-seren will just have to come up with a different way to argue his soul into immortality. And then he can find out what kind of fun Maitimo wants to have with him that requires him to be unable to die.

Kiss. I don't mind having to be careful with you.

And if you ever find yourself irresistibly tempted to murder me, you can always bring my soul to Dawn-shining to be resurrected afterward.

Or not, he supposes. Wow, that was a depressing thought. He giggles at himself and cuddles up to Maitimo. He does not actually think that Maitimo is going to kill him and then leave him that way. (Although there's a part of him that kind of wants to play with the possibility, now - it's scary in the good way because he really does trust Maitimo not to do that...)

That would be so embarrassing, though. 'I broke my toy, will you fix it?'

Between Taliars it's just - I don't have immortality yet so he's my immortality. It wouldn't read to him like you'd gone too far or messed up or anything, he'd just hand me right back to you and maybe ask what you did in case it sounded like fun, but he'd think of it as entirely your business.

Giggle. It'd bother me.

Okay. Then you can avoid murdering me until I'm immortal, that's fine too.

Snuggle.

I love you.

I know. He kisses his hair.

He feels so good and cozy and appreciated and - small and helpless and safe. It's nice.

I'm so glad you decided to sing me trust songs. That was amazing. And, you know, when I said 'make my trust matter' I didn't exactly mean 'take my mind to pieces', but I ended up appreciating it anyway, so that works out. I like that you can do these things to me. That identity song was amazingly fucked up. If I hadn't been high on trust at the time I bet I would've been terrified you were going to fuck me like that.

You said you've had enough silver recently.

Awwwwwwwwwwww. He feels a wave of deep affection, and his soul shines blue.

Yeah, it might've been a bit much. I would've handled it but - I appreciate that I didn't have to. I love you.

Kiss. Yes, you do.

For some reason it's really endearing when Maitimo says that. Maybe because - he definitely knows - it's lovely that he knows Raika-seren this well, that he can see into his head all the time, that he Yeerked him and understands him deeply enough to do things like set him on a stupidly difficult task to help him recover from a straight day of trauma flashbacks.

If they ever get around to exploring the concept of bad days, Maitimo isn't going to undershoot the first one at all, is he.

Only if that happens to be - what's best for you - which it might -

Guess it depends on when we try it and how I'm feeling at the time. I think I'd kind of rather wait until it's best for me to get as fucked up as possible, honestly, it's - I really get something out of you knowing me as well as you do, and part of that is that you can go farther with me than would be safe if you didn't?

Makes sense.

Yeah.

Snuggle.

That and bragging rights in the Taliar playing-with-fire competition.

The poor new one, no torturers to throw himself at at all.

We planned him out pretty carefully so he wouldn't end up getting jealous! Although I think we didn't think hard enough about the power disparity between him and Elaneth-imire - it's just more efficient to get Elaneth-imire to do nearly anything you need a Taliar's soul for, and Liran-alore is going to have trouble with that until he finds himself a niche. Or achieves godhood, either one.