Carissa feels faintly embarrassed on her alt's behalf.

"A conviction that no power or love can budge is a rare thing. I would not ask her to set it down."

"The conviction that...you shouldn't fight Asmodeus?"

"That it would be a defeat, not a victory, and a defeat of a kind we cannot afford as often as we are on a path to court it. ...I think we can do better here, but I cannot promise it."

"I think I know what she means," Leareth says softly. "And I - respect her determination. But, as you say - I am not sure that we have any better alternative." 

"I would like to speak to my counterpart in the other world. She will know - why it went so poorly in their world, and what concessions would be required of Us for it to go better here. Ideally we could speak directly, but I don't know how this could be done. It is the sort of problem more productively approached from your angle than from mine."

"The other Carissa is - not going to betray us, right -"

"Prophecy is ended; I cannot know her heart better than her. She does not intend to."

"...I do not expect her to, honestly, that is - I am not sure what outcome it is that worries me but it is not centrally that." Leareth shakes his head. "- I will consider ways that we could help you contact your counterpart, and speak with Mhalir about it later." 

"I think that is not the likeliest bad outcome with her, just the worst by far.

She was envious, last night, of you, and your love for each other. That's what troubled her."

That is pathetic and no wonder she didn't want to admit to it.

"Oh. That - makes sense..." 

Leareth doesn't think that it's pathetic at all. He thinks it's a very reasonable, very human thing for her to want, to be jealous of, and it hurts. 

He glances around. At the mountains, the stars. "Where are we, by the way - is this one of your memories -?" 

"Sarkoris looked like this, before the Worldwound opened.

I think you are making mistakes that are related to - having no time to grieve what was done in their world and might be done in ours."

"Oh. I see." Leareth assumes that she's addressing him, not Carissa; it feels less like a her-shaped sort of mistake. "What - sort of mistakes? What would you propose that I try instead?" 

"I think you should take the time to feel it. There won't be a better moment. And the problem you came to me with is not urgent. Carissa will sleep a few hours longer."

Leareth nods. ...And there's no point in trying to hide what he's thinking and feeling from Her. "I - kept wanting to wait until I could speak to my wife without Mhalir there." 

"Well, here we are."

Leareth turns to look at Carissa, standing in the mountainscape under the stars. Reaches for her hands. "- What are you feeling. About - all of it." 

"I - I feel like there's something nice, right there, and we can't quite have it, even though we should be able to - I feel jealous of her, which I'm aware is also pathetic, I feel - overwhelmed because ...this is very big, and I do just trust Iomedae and trust you, but then she acts like I - shouldn't? I think I actually should, though." Sigh.

"You trust me to - what? To get it right?"

Leareth closes his eyes. "I am not sure that I trust me. I am not sure that I trust anyone in the entire multiverse. The world is not fair and never has been, and - and there is no guarantee that the problems we face will be ones we can handle. Not even the gods." A half-apologetic glance at Iomedae. "And - I am scared, I suppose." 

"That we'll - fail, and get all the evil gods allied against us?"

"Or something like that - perhaps something else that I would not ever see coming... The world is so much bigger than I knew. There are so many things I do not and cannot know, and - I hate not feeling oriented - I suppose I am still adjusting to that part." 

She glances at Iomedae. "That's - why I trust the gods, I think. Because I couldn't possibly - stay on top of it myself, or even understand it all..."

"I trust the gods to try - well, some of Them, at least, those on our side. I - do not think I am capable of...trusting that that will be enough." 

"If it's not enough... I certainly won't be. So it's better to think about - the plan assuming that it is enough. I think."