"...Gods, I really should wake him for this." Shavri rubs her eyes. "I told him we were meeting to discuss plans and he said since he couldn't come anyway he was going to bed and could I please catch him up in the morning and only wake him up if something was literally on fire." 

"The fire, while considerable, is still metaphorical. It's not obvious to me he needs his sleep interrupted as long as nothing else irreversible is done till he wakes up."

Vanyel looks around, only speaks when it seems like no one else is going to. "Fine. We're obviously in no condition to make irreversible decisions right now so we shouldn't. Er, only thing to cover tonight is Dara, I guess. Belrun, why do you think she's probably all right, or as much as she can be anyway?" 

"She told me it wasn't my fault and that she was leaving because no one was going to trust her any more and asked me not to tell anyone right away because she wasn't sure she'd be allowed to leave. She gave me an address to send her scholarship money later, which I expect I can extract from Leareth, since I do feel somewhat responsible."

"...Did she seem like she was, er, in an emotional state where she might get partway and decide that actually throwing herself in the river was easier? What was she planning to do? I mean, she doesn't have a Companion to ride anymore, she would've had to borrow a horse, it's the middle of the night, she's fourteen... I'm just pretty worried about her, actually, even if her plan is 'ride by herself all night' and she's not planning to hurt herself or anything, it didn't seem like she's - making decisions from a place of being especially clearheaded." He sounds like he might be speaking from personal experience here. 

"She seemed pretty stable to me but I can't rule out that it was a front, I suppose. She can't have gotten all that far, though, so I'm not sure why you haven't just Mindspoken her."

"We've all tried! She's always had very good shields and it seems like she doesn't want to talk to us, we can't even find her that way. Rolan could, maybe, but, well..." 

"But, well, he accidentally ripped a hole in her brain, yeah. I think she'll be fine. I can't guarantee it since I am not holding her prisoner to ensure it. Maybe in the morning she'll talk to you."

Some worried and unhappy looks are exchanged. 

Vanyel folds his arms. "I think Belrun is right, and I think hauling her back here against her will is going to make things worse rather than better, even assuming we could find her. So. Plan: I go to bed, if Leareth turns up I can talk to him about the Companion bond, which is likely to take the whole dream, and I'll avoid anything else. I can do that." 

He glances at Belrun. :Um, given the fact that a dream tonight is likelier than baseline, maybe it would make sense for you to, er, sleep in my bed. Unless you want to stay with Amshalan tonight in which case, reasonable. I guess I could sleep in the stables too and just try to avoid Yfandes...: 

:It's really dumb that the buildings aren't made to fit Companions. Uh, I need a few minutes to talk to Amshalan after everybody disperses and then I'll get back to you?:

:Sure, of course: 

There are some mutters and some Mindspeech-looks and then everyone finally starts to disperse. Keiran takes Tran by the arm, gently, and leads him away. 

:Well?: Belrun asks Amshalan. :What do you suppose? You Chose me, are you - allowed to keep me?:

:–can we go for a walk. Maybe a run. I can't - it's really hard to think right now: Amshalan is sort of restlessly shifting her weight. 

...you're not wearing a saddle:

:Oh. Right. I can - get one - although on reflection running around in the dark is probably a dumb idea and I'll break my legs: 

:Yeah. What's hard to think about exactly, can I help -:

:Um. It's - hard to talk about - the thing that's hard to think about, but. It's like - there are a lot of thoughts I can have hypothetically? But - not if it's in real life. And - you are kind of in real life: 

:Yeah, I am. Real live me as advertised. Was this a bad idea?:

:Most of me - doesn't think so. You're - my Chosen. You're - really great actually. I - just - I can't - the part about–: She gives up in disgust. Stomps her hoof on the path. :Goddamnit. I can't THINK. This is stupid: 

:If it helps to have it hypothetical -

- if I'd just been left alone I was going to try to eradicate some infectious diseases. Leareth thinks the gods would've stopped me. Hypothetically:

(Amshalan is soft. Pet pet.)

:I - think - people dying of infectious diseases - is bad actually: Amshalan sends, slowly, carefully, picking out each word as though balancing on unsteady rocks in a river. 

:So do I! So hypothetically, assuming Leareth's right at any rate -:

Amshalan tenses up. Forces herself to relax. :...It's - really hard to - look at - that. Him. Like something - doesn't want me to: 

:At - Leareth?

Well, depending on how the dream works if we wind up having a stable sleepover with Vanyel you might encounter him tonight, so -: