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In the morning, Sylvi's up first, having suffered no worse in her second chunk of sleep than eighteen-year-old Lu tripping and skinning her knee because the pet zebra she usually rode was getting reshod and she had to walk to the theater to meet her friends. Charp sets about making breakfast as soon as she stirs. It puts a kettle on to boil for Avedan's tea and fixes eggs and toast with jam for Sylvi. She reads more of her notes while the food cooks, and Charp delivers to her at her desk. It's all just how she likes it.
if_at_first
The puppet shine follows his instructions insofar as they involve staying on a contiguous surface. Wheeeee.
Reading ensues. Charp makes lunch. Sylvi remembers to unpack her horse when she realizes midafternoon that she wants a shower; her horse contains in its central compartment, along with the shampoo she went looking for, some small automata with their instruction cartridges removed, changes of clothes, a few days' worth of travel food, and notebooks.
Reading ensues. Charp makes lunch. Sylvi remembers to unpack her horse when she realizes midafternoon that she wants a shower; her horse contains in its central compartment, along with the shampoo she went looking for, some small automata with their instruction cartridges removed, changes of clothes, a few days' worth of travel food, and notebooks.
do_over
Avedan realizes his similar problem when he notices Sylvi retrieving her things - but that's pretty easy to solve. This is the entire reason why he brought along his simple travel automaton. He's got less things with him than Sylvi does, but they're all very practically minded.
He looks at Sylvi curiously when all of his things are put away. "Do you travel a lot, or was it just to get to Lapis and explain the dreams?"
He looks at Sylvi curiously when all of his things are put away. "Do you travel a lot, or was it just to get to Lapis and explain the dreams?"
if_at_first
"I didn't use to travel a lot - uh, but I wasn't very comfortable living with my teacher anymore after I turned in one of my co-prentices for raping the girl down the street, so I moved out in pretty short order once Public Order saying he was convicted didn't soften them up on the subject. And then I thought I might as well go to Lapis."
if_at_first
"Various combinations of thought I was mistaken, thought I was being too hard on him, and thought I ought to have sided with the household over the neighbor girl," sighs Sylvi.
do_over
"... Too hard on someone for rape by turning them in to the authorities," says Avedan blankly. "And - side with the household over the victim of a crime? What?!"
if_at_first
"I didn't have prolonged conversations with them about their reasons for being annoyed with me, so I can't be very detailed about same," says Sylvi. "I determined that they were annoyed with me and put my belongings in my horse and got some camp gear and left."
do_over
"Well I'm - genuinely sorry it went that way. It was idiotic of them to be annoyed with you for doing what is essentially the right thing."
if_at_first
"Thanks. I don't - miss them a lot, or anything, I'm mostly fine about having to move, I'm just kind of disappointed in them."
do_over
"Yeah. That makes sense. I'm - rather disappointed in them, too, and I don't even know them."
if_at_first
"Well, if they hadn't been - awful about it, I wouldn't have been in Lapis this early and you would have had to wait for me, although I'm not sure if that would've made it easier to handle or not."
do_over
"True. I also would have been attacked by parrots for longer, having to find a password and all."
if_at_first
"Charp has the password, it's just only supposed to distribute it after whoever finds it and reads the letters intended for them and engages it in enough conversation to convince it that they're invested in figuring out the thing."
do_over
"But it's a much better story to say that 'I was attacked by a horde of parrots' instead of a 'horde of parrots landed on me, clung to me, and tugged in a direction I wasn't expecting to go.'"
if_at_first
"That's true. Do you optimize all the summaries of your life for what makes the best story?"
if_at_first
"Oddly enough, I haven't run across any warnings about you being contrary, just prudish and prone to self-neglect."