"I am sorry you will miss out on the chance to spite them but probably it is better if I do not punch very many people in the face."

" - yes, probably."

Hug.

Hug!

"I think I prefer to wait until I'm sure I want to marry you and then announce to my parents that they can choose to support this or not. - they might actually think I'm dead right now, I should possibly also fix that."

"And I'll ask the pharaoh's permission once you're ready but I really don't think he'll refuse."

Nod.

"And Abadar can't pick the kids if we raise them all chaotic good."

"Pff. Guess not."

"I used to be - really scared of that. It was stupid. Obviously he would go for someone suitable. But."

...hug. 

"I had a weird elaborate dream the other night where everyone better had died and I was pharaoh and I had barely talked to anyone or done anything for...five years, I think, and they decided they needed heirs, and - this is stupid -"

"It's not stupid. - unlikely to happen, but - I don't think less of you for being afraid of things that would be horrible if they happened."

"No, it's, uh, the rest of the dream that was stupid, that part is a recurring one and I think it's pretty valid, as dreams go."

"Oh. - you don't have to tell me if you don't want to? But I won't think you're stupid for having ridiculous dreams, either."

"They figured they had to get a heir out of me even if I was going to spend my whole pharaohhood moping so they went to a temple of Shelyn for romantic advice and they got your name, somehow, and they went and got you, and of course you hated me."

"Oh dear."

"And I figured I'd hurt you, eventually, because I was so lonely, so I sent you far away and then - died, I guess, and threw Osirion into chaos but I didn't dream about that part."

Hug.

Hug.

"I'm not sure if it's relevant at all but - the reason that all of us are a little scared of the one who does mind control is because she's - probably very powerful and probably very lonely. And might not have the ability to do anything to counteract this. I'm not sure how dumb it is to worry about, and probably there are lots of other saner things to worry about, but - I think we're all kind of worried that she might just be a black hole of loneliness that forces everybody else to orbit her."

"Poor thing."

"Yeah."

" - uh, if I leave you for the you with mind-control powers it's the mind control, just so you know, and I should be fished out."

Hug. "I figured."

"That'd be kind of a concerning amount of mind control to need fishing out of, this early in our relationship, but I trust you'll come through for me anyway. Or Fazil and Mahdi will, being advantaged by not being here to be mind-controlled themselves."