"I would rather you not self-hate at all even with a planar boundary between you and the object of your disdain! I think you are excellent."

"Awwwww," he says, and then he nuzzles her. "Then I'll refrain from the tired anti-hero archetype and accept your opinion as fact."

"Good. I am very reliable."

"Yes, yes you are. Also sensible."

"That's how I got promoted to Inquisitor."

"Mhmmm. And I love you for it." Pause. "Well, that and other things."

"Oh, and here I thought it was a sober decision entirely born of logic and counting only my sense as a factor."

He snorts. "Yeees. Because I am secretly the general of your robot army and logic is the only thing I possess."

"Should've caught on when you started calling me 'senior equipment maintenance specialist' during unguarded moments."

"You really should have, we robots expect more from our senior equipment maintenance specialists. Careful, you might get demoted."

"If it sensible to demote me I can only accede to the decision. Protesting would not be sensible."

"Aha, it's that kind of sensible lack of initiative that made us pick you. That and you declaring yourself it as the only remaining member of the glorious - whatever unpronounceable jargon they used."

He laughs. "I love you, too, my dear. So very much." Snuggle, snuggle.

Various employees and subordinates and associates are informed that Isabella is going on a trip, she will be inaccessible, Path will be around to relay instructions. Those of them who have been entrusted with knowledge about mirrors are given slightly more detail and accordingly more ability to get ahold of Isabella herself, or Adarin. (Vern will be staying home, too, but she has a bit more trouble getting around than Path does.)

"Oh, that reminds me, I didn't want to say it when I first thought of it because Iobel and Edarial were being such pills but we could match, would that be cute? Ice and Cypress, for our crowns."

"Awwww! Yes that would be adorable, let's do that."

"Okay!" Kiss.

Isabella double-checks the contents of her portal bag. "Standard herbs kit plus enough stuff for three resurrections, notebooks, food - Path can drop small stuff into the box if we get hungry but I think there's plenty considering I can always lure food animals the same way I do sacrifices - our ends of various mirror pairs, and some gummy worms and chocolates for your alt. And just barely enough rummaging room to grab any of the named things."

Adarin snickers. "Am I going to need to make another portal bag sometime in the future?"

"If we're going to keep plaguing people with utopias it would sure be handy!"

"I'll add it to the list. Want to wait until after it's made to head out, or go now? I don't see us running out of stuff, but we can be paranoid."

"We're all set to go now, if we wait we'll only be back later."