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Once the meeting of alternates has concluded, it's back home for the resident monarchs. Zevros grouses about his alt not being reachable yet. And then he grouses about his alt not being a man for - for reasons. Edarial tries very, very hard not to think about those reasons, and makes a face every time it's brought up. Zevros has mercy on his twin, and Edarial doesn't have to make many faces before Zevros's desire to screw himself isn't brought up again.
He also tries very hard not to think about how all of his alts have killed someone. This time, he's not as successful. Edarial's not sure if Prime's killed someone before the fiasco that was finding him, so he might be absolved for that, but the other two certainly chose to. Neither of them regret it in the slightest. He knows this because he asked, quietly, privately. It was in the defense of their matching Bells. That's - he doesn't know how to feel about that. That's worrying.
Obviously, the solution is math. He asks both alts for their - mental numbers, the factors behind them, and then he scurries off to crunch his own and compare with what they have. Iobel didn't want to have a competition, but - this isn't that. He's comparing notes. If he's - likely to kill someone in defense of her, he'd like a heads up first.
Copious amounts of math is completed. Edarial is - kind of frightened by the results. He gets up, and he goes to find Iobel. Because according to Adarin-math, he is probably capable of killing people in her defense.
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royal_obligation
come_midnight
"I don't know if you'd like me to talk about it, which isn't really the same thing as being uncomfortable but might as well yield the same results."
royal_obligation
"... Ah, that. I'm - all right with talking about it, with you. Though technically neither Prime nor Aya are - in a pair."
come_midnight
"Yes. Before we met Phix and Max it was just a coincidence, more or less. And now it looks less like one."
royal_obligation
"That it does. It sort of makes me want to go throw my father into a slightly more terrible dungeon, but I'm resisting that urge."
come_midnight
"Doing that would require you to interact with him again," she points out wryly.
royal_obligation
"Yes, yes it would. And I never want to have to put up with that - person. I'll go with person. I never want to have to put up with that person again."
royal_obligation
"So delightfully happy," he agrees.
He glances at the clenched hand. He considers trying to hold it, then - decides against it, for now. Maybe later.
"We've - decided what to do, but we seem to be - having trouble making it - happen."
He glances at the clenched hand. He considers trying to hold it, then - decides against it, for now. Maybe later.
"We've - decided what to do, but we seem to be - having trouble making it - happen."
come_midnight
"Yes. I don't suppose we can just pretend you found a time machine and start over?"
come_midnight
She lets him, unclenching it as he collects it. She almost says something, but then changes her mind.
royal_obligation
He'll just - hold her hand. Gently. For now.
"... I have no idea if that was a place to begin or not?" he laughs, self-consciously.
"... I have no idea if that was a place to begin or not?" he laughs, self-consciously.
come_midnight
"If you'd walked into my shop and held my hand without saying hello first I daresay I would have been puzzled," she remarks.
royal_obligation
Edarial snickers. "I - would not have gone with that, as a starter."
come_midnight
"In the scenario where you were acting on instructions from your future self or the one where you have suddenly contrived a need for a spellbook?"
royal_obligation
"Both. The - contrived need for a spellbook I would have acted utterly ordinary. The instructions from my future self, less so."
come_midnight
"I think I would have recognized you if you'd walked in. Because you were a prince and it is generally wise to know what the future ruler of one's country looks like. It would have been very unexpected."
royal_obligation
"I'll bet," he snorts. "What would you have done if the crown prince walked in asking for a spellbook?"
come_midnight
"Sold it to you. Maybe if I had politics on my mind I'd have asked how you were planning to do some particular thing, if there seemed to be a rapport, but I didn't like to overdo customer interaction, I never liked it when I was held up making small talk while buying jam and bread and sardines."