:I do appreciate the thought. The lag time on the letters is awful, I wasn't expecting it to be that bad but things have been so, uh, eventful:

:Sure does seem like it: 

:I wish you remembered more about being a human. It seems like it'd make for a useful comparison point for figuring out what's different now. Psychologically, not 'now you have hooves'. Though I guess Rolan in particular would be more different still. - has Yfandes, uh, gotten any worse?:

:I think she’s gotten more stressed - it’s incredibly hard on her, not being with Van - but, I don’t think she’s gotten closer to - what happened with Rolan: Thoughtful pause. :The Groveborn can Choose again when their Herald dies. And are responsible for - a lot more than just their Herald: 

The not-looking-at-the-spider unease is back, Amshalan’s sentences are coming out very fragmented, but she’s staying put. :Might - make it easier. Repudiation, I mean. Yfandes admitted to me she’s been scared it’d happen by accident even before now - when she was feeling very unsteady she’d just block Van, because of that. I think it feels like it’d be the end of the world, to her. It probably would, I mean, I think she might die after:

:I can't stop wanting to pick at it! Dara's got a hole ripped in her head and I still want to pick at it - it just feels like if I knew what exactly was happening it'd make sense and everything would be fine once it made sense. I suppose considering this it may be a good thing that I'm not going to get a lot more chances to fail to restrain myself from poking Heralds about their opinions on the gods:

:Hmm: Headtoss. :I - like that trait. Wanting to - know what’s happening. Even if it’s not Heraldic per se and might - end up breaking things:

:I don't want to break people!:

:I know! It’d be an actively unlikeable trait if you didn’t care about that. You just - want to understand anyway - because it’s important - because otherwise you might step on things entirely by accident...:

:That's not even why! You can avoid doing bad things if you just never do anything! Or even if you just do very conservative good things like giving widows with little kids your spare money! I don't want to understand so I can not do bad things, that's easy, it's - it's not pathetic exactly but there's a concept in that direction I'm reaching for - I want to understand things so that I can do good things. Big ones, ones so big that I have to know where everything is for miles around just to shape them and aim them -:

:No wonder Leareth likes you: Amshalan's mindvoice is earnestly pleased. 

:You've never met him! - have you?:

:Mmm, no, but it's not hard to guess what sort of person he is, hearing the debrief: Something in her mindvoice hints that she isn't saying everything. 

:Oh?:

:Just, I mean, he's obviously trying to do very big things that involve knowing where everything is for miles around: 

:That's true:

:Mmm. Anyway: Amshalan hesitates. :Wanted to make sure you’d been told and were all right. If you are then - I can let you know if anything changes, and pass on to Savil’s Kellan that you want to drop off another letter?: She seems a bit reluctant to leave, though.

:I've been told, I'm all right, I have a few more paragraphs to encipher but should be ready to send this letter within the candlemark:

:All right. See you round, Belrun: Amshalan trots off into the distance.

Belrun finishes her letter.

About a candlemark later, there is a loud, abrupt, and angry-sounding knock on her door. 

"...come in?"

Tantras sort of comes in, but stands by the doorway with his arms folded. "Are you very pleased with yourself, Belrun?" he says icily. 

"- am - what? No! I didn't want to do anything to hurt Dara, I like her!"

"Well, you sure did pick an interesting way to show it!" 

"I was just talking! You can Truth Spell me about whether any of it was misleading or even - filtered for this!"