"...Thought I saw something."

"Is that normal with psychometry?" Gideon asks, valiantly trying to pretend she doesn't know exactly what Palamedes saw. (OOPS.)

"Nnnot exactly. Sometimes an active scan can spike a latent or faded ghost into existence for a bit, but that's really rare."

...Sigh.

Yeah, what the fuck, a lot of cats are out of a lot of bags anyways, and Palamedes seems... Bothered, in a way Gideon doesn't like because Palamedes is her friend. 

Carefully: "She - I guess haunts? Me every now and then - she's a bit of a voyeur, sorry," Why did she say that part, "So, yeah, nothing weird or spooky - she's harmless." That is probably the most untrue way anyone has ever described the literal apocalypse, except for how it is true. "She'd... Reacted to that book when I was reading through it, first time." Which means she very well might have been either the one writing hearts everywhere - or, more likely, the one the hearts were about. 

...If the Emperor was waxing poetic about Gideon's mom being a beautiful frozen thing in a tomb, then locked her in one, like it was somehow romantic, then a) Gideon is definitely taking Tamerlane's side in the divorce, and, b) God's face has an appointment with Gideon's fist.

"Fair enough, I guess."

"No offense, but if we're still planning on sex the book needs to be put away until we're done."

"Fair, and I'd like to - oh, did you get anything else interesting off the book?" She can take it back if Palamedes doesn't want to touch it again. 

Yes please take it back. "Mostly the age- it's as old or older than anything here."

...Raises the chance of it being the Emperor's. (She takes it back, almost reverentially returning it to its place in her bag.)

"Thanks," she says, then: "I'm still down for sex if you are - and the psychometry doesn't bother me."

"Yes. We should pick safewords, then we can set up the scene."

...She has never used safewords with Ellyn, so she has no idea how this would like... Function. "I can just tap out normally with the fight," she says with a shrug. 

"It's important for after, too. Mine's 'bread', it rhymes with red, which can also mean stop."

"I'll stop if you say that," she says with a nod. "I don't think it'd be helpful for me, though. I'd rather just say what I want; I'm not planning to get anywhere near a headspace where that'd be hard."

"All right." She'll take Gideon at her word for this; Palamedes trusts Angerona and herself to maintain awareness.

Angerona shares hers, then: logistics time? What are they thinking for the fight...

"Well, first question is if we should start naked."

"That's a 'yes' for me."

"Motion seconded. But I'd like to keep some clothes on, I think that would be more fun for the winner."

"Seconded."

"Thirded."

"Then the question is: blades or bodies?"

"Bodies, if you're going naked. Copious bleeding stab wounds are a turn-off."

She might need to approach the Third for the sexy stabbing, then.

"Wrestling's a rare pleasure, so works for me."

"So long as we go either to the floor or to mercy."

"It's your unbroken elbows."

"If that's not a turn off..." She'd probably tap out first, though. 

"If the winner is not able to get me off, that's a turn-off. But I have taken a few medical courses."