Vanyel finishes his bread, and abruptly nudges Lissa's arm off his shoulders and rises onto his heels. :I think it's good. It's much less distracting than before and I don't think it's causing bad side effects. I should go check in with - who's the Herald in charge here, Lissa? They probably need mage-work–: 

"Vanyel!" Lissa says indignantly, and then seems lost for words. 

Yfandes turns to look at Thellim and Melody; her expression - again, much more detailed and legible than a horse's face should really be able to convey - is somewhere between apologetic and imploring.

Vanyel what the ASS are you trying to do.

:Unless mage-work specifically has healing effects on brains, there's probably a better move,: Thellim sends much more calmly than she feels.  'There's probably a better move' doesn't begin to cover it.  His currently proposed strategy is so far suboptimal that sending fully randomized signals down his spinal cord and twitching around on the floor would be 'probably a better move'.  :If mage-work is anything like Mindhealing, it uses concentration while you should be resting.  Also mage-work diminishes appetite and you're still working off a severe caloric deficit.  If what you actually need is something to distract you, to turn off your brain for a while, we can get you -:  They probably don't have many elaborate-puzzle-games in Horn, this place is incredibly poor.  :- books from the nearest library -: oops wait :- or, well, find someone who has a book, there's got to be someone.  But Vanyel, you need to rest your thoughts and emotions, we literally just performed surgery on them.  You don't run on a broken leg the doctor just splinted.  If you feel a strong need to be working you can - move bales of hay around, with your arms, maybe?  But not mage-work.:

:Vanyel, I'm going to have to second that. The smart thing, if you want to be at your best again as soon as possible, is to rest now: Melody tilts her head a little to the side, tugging at her collar again. :Also, I'd like to throw in an argument that resting is more pleasant than flinging yourself right back at the bottomless pit of mage-work, and you've earned it. Actually I think you'd earned it two months ago and should've been pulled off the Border for leave then:  

:Randi couldn't afford to give me leave. I'm not sure he can now: 

:From what I hear, we're really not in imminent danger of losing the war. And it'd be a smart move on Randi's part to give you leave before you collapse, so he can send you back out when things heat up again: 

Melody sighs. 

:But I feel like we keep missing the point, which is that you're a goddamned human being and you deserve one afternoon to be kind to yourself: 

She gives Thellim a pleading look, as if hoping for backup on this point. 

Vanyel mostly seems distracted, again, and vaguely irritated with them. 

:Vanyel, I offer-demand-indicate-willingness to bet you at 10-to-1 odds that if we describe this situation to Randi later, without telling him our past opinions, and ask Randi what he thinks would be an appropriate course of action, Randi's answer will include you resting for at least one night after surgery.  There may be some other goal your mind is trying to accomplish, by diving directly into mage-work now; but whatever that thing is, you need to acknowledge it explicitly to yourself, and then find an alternative way to accomplish it.  A way which also involves eating a lot of food.  Does this world have the concept of 'Healer's orders'?:

Vanyel turns and glares at her, genuine anger flashing in his eyes for a moment. :You're NOT telling Randi about this: 

:Formal apologies,: Thellim sends immediately, bowing her head and turning it in a gesture of abnegation (that's hopefully a built-in universal rather than cultural? she doesn't actually know).  :I will convey nothing of your medical record or your mind-state to Randi without your explicit consent, Vanyel, in accordance with my people's standard-professional-ethical-code of medicine.  I was not attempting to suggest anything along those lines, but rather saying that - if you think Randi's opinion would be an actually good one - I was offering to bet on what that would be?  It was meant to be very narrowly about other people's opinions held in common respect, and betting among ourselves on how those observables will turn out.  I'm sorry if it sounded like my threatening to release your information, whose ownership-by-you I acknowledge.:

:Oh: Vanyel settles back, looking sheepish and somewhat flustered. :Er, sorry: 

:Van: Yfandes addresses him, but includes all of them. :I know you don't like - feeling like you're taking up other people's time and attention, or like they're seeing the worst parts of you. But when you get embarrassed and defensive about it, especially no one else is even slightly feeling like you're wasting their time or you're unusually broken and that's shameful, I think it's pretty disorienting when you suddenly get prickly about things. Sorry, Thellim: 

Vanyel seems unsure whether to glare at Yfandes too or take it gracefully and thank her. He stares at the ground instead. 

:Vanyel, it's fine, I've done stupider things as a medical patient.  We all want to stop bugging you and leave you be.  But you need to rest and eat; your judgment on this subject may be impaired by factors including recent Mindhealing; and we're worried that you'll run out and start doing mage-work.  Does Valdemar have the educational methodology of administering transient mind-altering drugs to young adults, in order to let them practice falling back on very simple and reliable rules of reasoning under cognitive stress?  Fallback rules like not harming yourself, not harming others, not doing things that all of your friends are unanimously telling you not to do?  I'm trying to invoke the third rule there with respect to mage-work.:

:Huh? No: Vanyel scowls. :I’ve had about three meals just since I got here, aren’t you happy yet?:

:Vanyel, I think that isn't the main point. You're - hmm, how do I put this - you're thinking about this in a way where you're predictably going to burn yourself out, whether or not there's a good reason for it. I really do get that there may have been a good reason, before, for the last six months of this war, and people form habits. And I think now is a good time to try to switch to different habits. This war isn't going to be over anytime soon - whatever happens, you need a pace that's more sustainable than...: Vague gesture. 

:I guess: 

:I - want to claim that I meant you needed to eat very well over the next few days - but that's false, what actually happened is that even though I saw you eat one meal my subdeliberate-perceptual-cognition is still sending up alarm tones about how you look medically-dangerously thin, so it still wants to -: tie Vanyel to a chair and force-feed him lavender cookies until he's okay :- go on making you eat more meals until the alarm shuts off.  Which my full-conscious-deliberation-cognition does realize is not how biology works.  Sorry...:

:I think everyone except Melody and Vanyel - even Yfandes, if that's okay - are supposed to clear out of the room at this point.  He does need to have a postoperative conversation with his doctor.  But we're collectively-summatively badgering Vanyel too much, and we're all bad at that except for Melody the professional specialist, and if anything does need to be said to Vanyel it shouldn't be said while he's socially-forced-to-think-about-other-people-watching.  Melody, correct me if I was wrong; and if not, the rest of us should go.:

:No, that sounds right to me. Vanyel, is that what you want?: 

Vanyel blinks at her. :I - yes, that's fine. Er, that sounds good, I mean -: 

Lissa squeezes his shoulder a moment longer, and then backs off and stands. "Tell me right away if you need anything, all right?" she says out loud, in Valdemaran. "Honestly, abusing my rank to make things happen for my brother is really satisfying, and it's not like I get many chances to do that." 

Thellim starts to head outdoors before remembering that it was raining out there.  :Lissa or Yfandes, directions to nearest nonwet warm place?  Doesn't need to be isolated for private conversation if we're Mindspeeching anyways.:

:We can go back to my tent: Lissa offers, heading for the door. 

Yfandes stays exactly where she is.