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When Vanyel is ready for the mad science tour, he shows him the monkeys. "They're monkeys," she feels it necessary to clarify. "I know they look very human at this point, because the whole point of them is that I'm going to move into one if I ever die, but they're not people, and I have forbidden the staff to name them. I could move into one now if I had to but I'd like to get one actually looking like me in particular first, and I want to stick more Gifts into them, I got Fetching out of some Changesquirrels but further work is needed." She shows him the mice, too. "Do you suppose Jisa'd like a winged mouse? What's her favorite color?" She shows him all her microbiology eggs. "That's a flu sample from the recent plague! I remembered to take one. Those there are other flus. The white eggs have more-alive microbes and the brown eggs have less-alive kinds - there's a cold one of the staff mages had a few months ago, there's food poisoning, there's the most common kind from healthy intestines - you could get your Sight this fine, you know, I don't do heavy Healing-Gift use apart from Sight for this work."
Silence.
:I hurt you: Rolan sends, finally. :It...hurt for me, as well. It was very frightening for both of us, I think. It - was what it was, perhaps no one's fault...:
:No: Dara stomps her foot a little. :It was someone's fault. At the very least, the god that made you that way! And made - bonds that could be forced to break–: There are tears leaking down her cheeks now. :Wasn't fair. To either of us. To any Herald. Can you please. Just. Say that:
Rolan shuffles his hooves.
:He already had the jailbreaking done so it's not that. Maybe he just hates admitting he was wrong:
Dara turns back to Rolan and looks at him, steadily.
Rolan is silent for a long ten or fifteen seconds.
:It was not a good system: he sends, finally. :I mean, I...suppose it does not matter if the Power responsible knew this would happen. That it was possible at all...was doing wrong by you. And - I did wrong by you, even if I am still not sure what I could have done differently: He straightens his neck. :But I can do better going forward. I swear:
:And you're going to treat me like an adult now: Dara adds. :And answer my questions if you know the answer, not be all obnoxiously mysterious:
Nod.
Rolan pauses for a long time.
:...Yes. I think so:
Dara squeezes Belrun's hand one final time, and then runs forward and flings her arms around Rolan's neck.
:Sorry, you can go now if you want - thank you, it helped a lot having you here...:
Dara hugs Rolan some more, laughing and crying at the same time, and then pulls herself up onto his back so they can ride away.
Belrun goes back about her other errands, sticking Gifts in people and such.
When the Gate from Petras opens, Rana's there and hops through ahead of a cart of various food.
"She's doing a lot! She's very impressive, you know. A little terrifying. But in a good way."