"Powerful people use their power to get whatever they want, and if what they want is a servant or a first-circle wizard they get it. There's not any sense objecting to it, you just lie back and enjoy it."

How is he all out of Detect Thoughts for today. Fuck. 

"--I wish I could say better about our powerful people."

At least he understands what powerful people are supposed to be doing even if he thinks it's bad and is remarkably non-self-aware about the extremely beautiful Security wizard who is working for him. 

Tanidio starts to kiss his neck in the hopes that this conversation is Over. 

Okay, that's a thing that's happening? He expected this train to stay very derailed.

... Also there's an implication to what Tanidio said. And he doesn't need to know, and he shouldn't pry it out-- but it would be important context. "You were a first circle wizard."

"I was a very good-looking first-circle wizard with no rich or powerful family to protect me, and before that a very good-looking wizard student with no rich or powerful family to protect me, and the obvious inferences from that are in fact true. --Hasn't been true for two years, I'm Inquisitor Chrisor's now and he doesn't like it when other people touch his people."

"I'm so sorry." He wants to hug him, but he has no idea if Tanidio even wants that. Also he is actively touching him, and has just been informed that his... Patron? doesn't want him to do that.

"It's the way things are."

In ten days he is going to have twenty wizard students in this house, and at least one other Security, and he is going to set up a signal that means "unexpected sensitive conversation" and then someone will be able to cast Detect Thoughts and he will come up with some kind of system so he can at least know if it is going well or badly. 

"I don't know whether you want me to be mad and say that it shouldn't be, or--" He wants to shout about how awful it is and then hug Tanidio, but that would just make him feel better and that's not what matters.

What he wants is for Bun to go "yes, taking advantage of powerless people, that's a great idea, I'm going to do this to Tanidio right now." Alternately, he wants this conversation to be over.

On the other hand, Bun is making Tanidio feel sad, which is... probably good for Bun's Evil? Making people sad is Evil, probably? And Bun getting really angry about something he is definitely also doing is also good for his Evil, probably, as much as the entire concept of hypocrisy annoys Chrisor.

Tanidio wishes he'd paid more attention in theology class.

It's weird for Bun to be so upset. It wasn't that bad. There were many jobs Tanidio had had that were worse. Sometimes it was even fun.    

"You can be angry if you want."

... He doesn't really have anything to say? Whoever did it isn't here and it feels kind of pointless to get very angry while Tanidio is just shrugging about it.

He hugs him, instead.

...It feels really strange to talk to someone who is upset about him getting hurt. And the hug is also very weird. He should feel humiliated by it. You hug little children. You don't hug adults who are supposed to be able to handle their own feelings. 

He feels something wet on his cheeks. Which is so stupid and weak and Bun is going to hate him now--

Oh no, Tanidio is crying now. Increase the hug?

Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck he is so stupid why can't he stop crying he would punish himself but Bun isn't supposed to know that he's supposed to punish himself for being weak so he's just crying--

--he hears a noise that should not be there.

Buffs on Bun, no buffs on himself because he's running low on spells, he is going to go investigate. 

... This is the second time tonight. Which might mean the kid is walking around again, which would be good. But he can't be sure.

What is it about tonight?

He sticks behind Tanidio. Both for cold blooded "it makes sense to stay as close as possible to the security person" and less sensible "it feels mean to make him go into a potentially dangerous situation alone while crying."

It turns out that Levrolurment is wedged above a wardrobe.

"You guys should keep talking about interplanar disagreements about sexual norms!"

... Shouting at Levrolurment because he is mostly mad at other people is not a good idea.

But also at no point in that conversation was it not a personal one? "Should we?"

"Yes! I have seen humans cry on each other lots of times! It is not novel or interesting."

...

"Has your observations of humans crying given you any insight into why this conversation is stopping?"

He thinks it should be illegal to employ a gnome on a project where you're not allowed to backhand them whenever they're being annoying. 

"Well, I don't know why you're sad, you're from another plane. And I don't know why Tanidio is sad because nothing that happened is something a normal Chelish person would cry about. If you want to explain your feelings to each other, I'd be happy to eavesdrop on that."

"Levrolurment, if you have to hide on top of a wardrobe to hear a conversation, that means that the people you are eavesdropping on don't want you to hear it."

"...and...?"

"And if you listen to conversations the participants don't want you to listen to, I will"-- explore some of those exciting new gnome inventions from the torture shop-- "fire you and then you don't get to talk to Bun anymore."