"Right, okay. Sorry, I'm just making up things to be nervous about. I guess I should go talk to a Healer?" He kind of wants it to be Shavri in particular because she's already seen him being embarrassingly nonfunctional and didn't treat him differently about it but maybe it should be someone more experienced.

"Sure, that sounds good. I could ask Andy if you wanted, but I'm not sure he's especially practiced at that kind of thing." 

"Do you know who would be? Or he might know."

"He might know, yes. - Oh, Kellan says you could ask your friend Shavri, she seems like the sort who's always trying to learn the most advanced things even if they're nonstandard." 

"Oh, yes, I bet she'd find it interesting. I'll ask her." Abras is suddenly wondering how much of this conversation is happening in the Companion sidechannel but if Yfandes isn't telling him it's because she would rather not.

(Yfandes does not jump in to enlighten him on this matter, though she does sent a gentle wash of reassurance.) 

Savil, after a moment, reaches over and squeezes Abras' shoulder. "Ke'chara, you don't need to rush into this. We should take our time planning it, if we're going to try it. And...listen. It's very brave of you to consider it at all, and I'm proud of you." 

"Thanks. And I agree on careful planning, I just don't want to, um, find reasons to put off parts that don't actually need to be put off."

This time Yfandes does step in. :I don't think I'm worried about that, love. You're usually too hard on yourself, not too gentle: 

:Okay. It's also the sort of thing where anticipating it is going to be worse than having done it.:

"I had another question too, an unrelated one. Lancir and I were thinking that I should learn how to incapacitate someone quickly without killing them, ideally in a way that doesn't take ongoing attention. Do you know what are some good techniques for that?"

"Oh, hmm - good question! I think for now you'll be best off learning paralysis spells, the trap kind that you can prepare in advance before a fight. We could schedule some time for me to teach you the techniques?" 

"I'd like that." Maybe if he learns everything about how paralysis spells work and how to do them he won't get overwhelming vivid memories of being hit with one at the worst possible moments.

Yfandes gives him a gentle mental nudge. :Don't push yourself too far on it, Chosen. I think it will help, in the longer run, but it's also normal to find it more stressful because of what happened - and Savil isn't going to be good at remembering that, so you need to tell her if you're overwhelmed: 

:Yeah, of course. It's--figuring out what I can and can't do should be my job, not hers. I think it will be okay as long as I don't have to actually get paralysed. Aaaaand I guess I should actually say that.:

"Um, when we do that, would it be possible to practice not on myself? I, uh, get scared when I can't move."

Savil looks so apologetic! "Oh, yes, of course - I'm very sorry for not thinking of it, ke'chara, that makes perfect sense." 

"It's fine. Thanks for understanding. Um, I think that was everything--how have you been?"

"Oh, you know, the usual. Aches and pains and frustrating politics." 

"Politics always sounds awful." He hasn't had to do much, thank goodness, but he's heard enough about it from both Savil and his father that he knows you can't give everyone what they want and sometimes they won't even tell you what that is.

"Gods, it really is. You won't believe what Lord Lathan was on about at the last meeting..." And Savil is off, and content to vent to Abras for the next while. 

Abras is content to be a venting recipient, since it doesn't require any political skill of his own or any embarrassing confessions.

And then eventually they can get dinner, and then Abras can head off to bed. 

He has a nightmare about Gates that doesn't even make sense by typical dream standards and starts the day behind schedule, so he doesn't get a chance to talk to Shavri until the following day and Savil might beat him to it.

(Savil is extremely absorbed in stewing about a recent argument with Jaysen over harvest taxes, and has completely forgotten about this quest.) 

Sandra does reach out to Abras with Mindspeech, though, the next morning. :Heya. Now that you're back, want to do some more alchemy research sometime?: 

:Definitely.: They can meet up in the same place as last time; he's excited to hear about anything she found out while he was away.