"If he wanted some time alone to think after a conversation with you two, I might not count, I don't think he'll object if I go check in with him very briefly about that question." 

"Okay, go ahead then."

Melody does so. 

She tracks them down again a while later. "All right, got his permission and we should probably talk, want to find somewhere private for it?" 

"Sure, does our room work?"

"Sounds fine." She follows them there. 

Belrun sits next to Leareth on their bed.

"All right, er, do you have specific questions? I'm not sure where to start." 

"Is the copying things over something you can do at all, I want to know if it's worth thinking about."

"It's not quite that neat? But we can certainly show Telumë your Leareth's memories, and I could help make it stickier for him via Mindhealing, and I think with his active cooperation we could move some things around in what he calls his 'core memories'; it's kind of what his entire motivation system is hung off, more than a normal memory." 

Leareth is nodding along. "Yes, that sounds about right." 

"How sure are you that you want to do that? Mess with his core memories, I mean. Honestly this would have been a very good opportunity six years ago, when he was trying to piece everything back together after Angband, and I think was aiming for being about the same person as before. He's different enough now that - well, trying to put everything back the way it was would involve destroying some parts in there. I think Telumë currently feels that he has to do that, if you think it's correct, but I'm not at all sure it is correct and he's really, really scared." 

Leareth reaches out and grips Belrun's hand. 

"I am not sure it needs to be exactly the same? For one, I am not exactly the same as he was before all of this, since I met Belrun. I think there is some room for variation? Also I do not want him to have to do something he is that afraid of. That being said, it seems that his current mind-setup is causing problems." 

"Fair enough. Honestly, he needs a couple of years of downtime more than anything else. And, I don't think his decision-making on non-Maitimo-related questions is that compromised from the core memory part, as opposed to just general lack of experience and not having had time to go through all the records." 

"Hmm. I need to think about that, I think." 

Meanwhile scrying for Sauron finds -

- a bizarre superposition of two images -

- one is of some forest, and doesn't appear to have anything else in it, except to mage-sight which shows characteristic Maia fuzz and also an illusioned Quendi.

- the other one is of something else entirely.

It looks like this! It is singing to itself and throwing a rock against a wall.

:Leareth, Belrun? I think you'd better come and see this: Pause. :Sorry this is Vanyel from 813, I don't know if that's obvious in Mindspeech?: 

Leareth starts to stand. :What is it? Should Melody come too? We were speaking with her: 

:Guess she might as well?: 

"Your Vanyel found something," Belrun tells her, getting up.

"Oh! Hmm, trying to decide if I should grab Telumë as well. Maybe we can see what it is first and then decide." 

Leareth holds Belrun's hand to help minimize tripping-risk, and they head over to where Savil and the Vanyels were working. 

"We were trying to design a spell to scry for Sauron," the older Vanyel says, "and - well, something went very oddly. Probably we should show Elrond as well, if he's free right now." 

Is he? 

He is. He frowns at the scry, puzzled. "I don't know what kind of creature that is. Maybe a very emaciated halfling?"

The creature sings to itself. "Hmmm, hmmm, what's this to-day, hmmm, hmmm, it's fish! Hoo-ray!"