Vanyel nods, slowly. 

"It...makes sense that you want that. And that I'm the best person for it from one angle. I think it's not the case any more that the Senior Circle is upset enough with me to make that a consideration against. I think Randi ought to prefer this over the default. I'm not sure if he will, in practice, because - weird feelings. It's worth asking, I think." 

"I realize it's a big ask but the diplomats have been spinning their wheels for not much progress for a while and ultimately if we don't tell anybody anything that's on us, and this is a way to tell anybody anything."

"No, I understand, it makes perfect sense. I agree about using more hypotheticals, too." 

"Do you have any guesses?" she wonders. "To populate the field with. People's reactions to things can be informative even if you know it's a made up example for sure because it was yours."

"Ummm." He has to think surprisingly hard. "Make...a giant shield wall, like Iftel has, that keeps other gods from interfering in your empire so you can actually get things done?" 

"Ooh, I like it."

Vanyel smiles. "I'm glad! Trying to think of others. You...want to break the pact the Tayledras and Shin'a'in are bound to, and free them. ...I don't know if that's even the kind of thing you can do, but it seems like you might want to, and like it'd take a lot, if it was possible." 

"Ooh! I wish I could write these down as you say them. I'll try to remember."

"Oh, sorry, right! Er, I'll give you a minute if you want to try to memorize it properly." 

"Tell you what, I will write it down and review when we're closer to waking up." She flips to a blank spot in her dream notebook and scribbles down his ideas.

Vanyel keeps thinking. "...Might be running out of good ideas. You might - want to make your own race of powerful magical creatures, like Companions or Suncats, but not serving a specific god, just helping humans. - Actually, I bet you could do that, Belrun." 

"I don't really want to make people."

"Fair enough. Might still be a good hypothetical." He rubs his forehead. "That may be all I can think of for now, but I'll keep trying." 

"Thanks!" She writes down the magical creature race idea.

"I think we are nearly out of dream in any case. Vanyel, was there anything else you wished to add?" 

He shakes his head. "It does feel like we were - stuck. Stuck in a better position than you and I were in the dreams before all of this," handwave that encompasses Belrun, "but still. I'm glad you're thinking about getting us unstuck." 

"Happy to help."

The dream does, in fact, end shortly later, and as usual wakes both of them. Leareth, back in his new body, reaches to snuggle Belrun. 

She snuggles and grabs her bedside notebook and says "Light?"

Sleepy Leareth can give her a mage-light and then nudge his own notebook toward his hand with magic so he can write without sitting up. 

She gets down short versions of all Vanyel's ideas and then snuggles back up.

Snuggle. 

"Mmmmloveyou."

"Loveyoutoo." He pulls her into his arms, and is already most of the way to asleep again. 

In the morning it's back to mad science!