"I wonder if I could Imperio a Vala."

"I don't recommend it, as there's fourteen of them and they might not like it."

"There's only one in the later Arda."

"Oh, that one. That... would be interesting, but would want some testing of interaction with oaths and you'd have to avoid tripping the self-defense allowance."

"How's the self-defense allowance worded?"

Cam hands him that page.

He reads through it. "So I couldn't make him harm himself or his friends, or give him reason to think I'm doing that, but - asking him to grab the Maiar back seems like it shouldn't count..."

"The curse itself might constitute harm. The wording holds, but where there is wiggle room it's about the swearer's intent, as I understand it."

Nod.

"He'd also have to obligingly have an identifiable physical location."

"What's he been up to since the end of the war?"

"He doesn't send me postcards."

"Whyever not." Sigh.

Snuggle. "It's a good idea, it might come to something, it's just not implementable instantly."

"I suppose nothing's urgent, is it. The Elves'll be happy to stay here five years, why wouldn't they be, as Earth counts time tiny Maitimo's already seventy. We're waiting on people dying. We can -take as long as we need, have it all planned out..."

Nod.

He doesn't look like he believes it. 

"Perhaps this is why immortal people pick up so many hobbies. I feel like I'm just going to drive myself spare trying and failing to think of better solutions."

"This is why I play the violin. I didn't start anything that I wanted to learn in a formal setting that was incompatible with summons till my parents died, so med school waited, but violin I was willing to self-teach."

Squeeze. "Those must have been such frustrating summons -"

Snuggle. "I got used to it, but yeah."

"I'm really looking forward to hearing about the Elves's adventures in Revelation, maybe they can end the gagging thing."

"I'm really surprised it's lasted this long; maybe they can."

"Stupidity is very persistent."

"I've noticed."

And when Cam next checks their mail they will both have notes that say - "can you come verify a few points of confusion about the world?"