"If we mess up too badly it might be that way forever. Even ten unnecessary Ages is better than permanently compromising our ability to fix it."

"I know."

"Hopefully it all goes smoothly and the Valar are supportive before we even have the means."

"Yeah. --I should probably stop thinking about this from this angle, for now, it's not generating any interesting insights and thinking 'but what if I were separated from Ahyadacil for Ages' is particularly--obstructive--when she is in fact not around, it's hard to think reasonably about it."

Hug?

Yes please.

Hug. "Most people with loved ones dead came to Valinor, I think."

"And people probably don't die as much anymore since then--but it doesn't never happen."

"It happens."

"At least twins are rare."

"Separation would be tough on the rest of us too, though."

"Yeah, it's--the difference between a bad thing I'm currently predisposed to have difficulty handling reasonably and a bad thing I'm not, not a bad thing and a less bad thing."

"I am sure my father'd forgive you some time off, if you wanted to go with her -"

"I want my relationship with my sister to be an unambiguously good thing, not a thing that means I can't do things because I need her too much."

"You can do things later - we have forever -"

"Yeah, but--

Ahyadacil has kind of an enormous crush on your brother and she's not planning to, like, tell him that or anything, because apparently girls making a move on him because he's a prince is a thing that happens, but it would make traveling for a Year with her and him really, really awkward."

"...ah. Yes, that would do it."

"Please don't tell anyone, she has what is a legitimately good reason for wanting to keep it to herself. But, yeah. Also it would be boring? Like, nature is beautiful and all, but I'd go nuts if I had nothing to do for most of a Year besides stare at it."

"I think they occasionally shoot at it. And there're people down south, who presumably get up to some engineering occasionally. I won't tell anyone, but - Tyelcormo may grumble about hating everyone in Tirion, but he's not planning to handle prince-hunting with eternal celibacy."

She does not comment on things she's heard about his lack of celibacy.

"Yeah, I dunno, if she doesn't get over him or something she'll probably bring it up eventually, but not until she's confident that he wouldn't suspect her of only liking him for his prince-ness, and I don't know how long that would take but almost certainly more than a Year."

Nod. "They'd be good for each other."

"I got that impression but I haven't known him very long so it wasn't a terribly high-confidence impression."

"I like playing matchmaker but not with my brothers, seems - a conflict of interests, or something. But Tyelcormo deserves - someone who will be indifferent to, rather than deigning to overlook, his - indiscretions - and I think he's gone and found one."

"Assuming I take your meaning correctly, yes, he has."

"Not the only criterion but it speaks to several of them."