:Even better practice, then: 

:<3:

That is very cute. :!: 

:Are there more nuances to this or is it mostly just a matter of practicing it till it feels natural?:

:Longer distances while keeping the directional shielding is a little different - and finding someone at a distance, of course, though with the lifebond it should be easier for us. Group conversations also require a different kind of link. Other than that, I think this is mostly it: 

:I think Rana has potential but not actual Mindspeech. Not sure who else to rope into a group conversation.:

:Perhaps some of your Healing colleagues have the Gift, but also that part seems less a high priority right now. I was mainly concerned about your being able to contact me from a distance. I wonder what your range is?: 

:Couldn't tell you. What's typical?:

:A mile comfortably, perhaps five in an emergency, for a moderate Gift? For some reason the average among Heralds is much higher than that among even the population-matched Valdemaran Healers; perhaps having a Companion helps since they Mindspeak with their Companions constantly. Personally I would not trade having a Companion for better range, though:

:Me either. I could Mindspeak you constantly instead.:

:Highly preferable. Though I did just give you a new way to prevent me from getting any work done. The gods must be so entertained with themselves: 

:You told me you weren't very busy day to day! If you need to do stuff by yourself I'm not going to chase you down and Fetch you into my lap!:

:I know, I am teasing you. Could you Fetch me into your lap if you did want to?: 

:Probably, unless you were holding on to something or wearing really grippy shoes? Dragging takes less force than lifting:

Now Leareth sort of wants a demonstration but also doesn't want to tire her out for no reason. 

:The imaginary voice of my former roommate suggests I pin you to the bed instead, should I listen to her?:

Leareth chuckles. :What an intriguing suggestion: 

Belrun demonstrates entertaining uses of Fetching and gets plenty of practice Mindspeaking while distracted!

And then it's still only afternoon, and they can talk a bit more and decide whether to make dinner plans. 

:I can't afford to go out to eat all that often but assuming you are not meaningfully financially constrained on account of being two thousand years old we could go to the place with the eggplant dip I usually go on my birthday:

:I am certainly not meaningfully financially constrained on the scale of 'going out to eat at restaurants' although I would need to Gate back and collect more money in a few weeks if we keep doing it every night. Eggplant dip sounds delightful: 

:Where do you get your money? Even if you take the occasional lifetime off your main project to start a business you - I guess I don't know the actual scale of your current operation but you need to fund an army in the hypothetical future even if you don't have it assembled yet, that sort of thing strains national governments: she asks, rendering herself presentable enough for eggplant dip.

"It is possible to make a great deal of money if you are the only one alive in a given region who knows a certain variety of magic," Leareth says. "Also I can set up businesses that continue to run in my absence. I have quite a lot of secret organizations all over the continent at this point. The current project is definitely burning through resources that I have accumulated over quite a long time period, but - those are resources that I have. Fortunately it is still at the point where I can redirect them into something other than an invasion without too much wasted effort." 

"I guess that makes sense if the gods don't leak your monopoly secret or strike your premises with lightning constantly. Do I need to worry about draining myself with Mindspeech? I know my limits with Fetching and Healing but not how they compare."

"It does draw from the same reserves - if you Mindspeak all day you will be able to do less total Healing or Fetching, although short range should not be very tiring. Probably your endurance would increase with more practice using the Gift as well - did that happen for you with Healing or with Fetching?"