"I meant that you are not being fair to him."

"Aydanci resents Maitimo for having any desires that conflict with Kib's, because Kib is in pain and it is intolerable to him that anyone should inflict more of it, and very viscerally annoying if anyone fails to treat Kib like the center of the universe. Kib likes this trait and so I am glad Aydanci possesses it but it is not, in fact, remotely fair. But since neither Maitimo or Kib believe the other one actually exists -"

"We're trying to act like we do."

"Yes, but you're not especially convincing, either of you. Anyway. Kib's enjoyment of his partners being adoringly obsessively uncharitable and unreasonable on his behalf is less of a problem when Kib thinks the people they're being unreasonable towards are real instead of orchestrated specifically to hurt him. Maitimo handles the whole thing more gracefully when he believes the people involved are real."

" - yeah, I see the picture. 'If you loved Kib at all you would act like he is the only person that matters, under the circumstances' is both the way a devoted husband can feel and a - very well-designed plot."

"I love Kib."

"I am not in any doubt."

"I think you should keep redmages away."

"I think one of them might want to talk to you about that."

He shivers.

He changes the subject to dots.

Ava writes Bright an email the next day: She'd be good to try it if there was a goldmage standing by. Milliways cheats their thing, so there'd still be a jumping self to kill but not a lifespan hit.

Oh, good idea. And to Cir, "is there a goldmage who might want to?"

"Could hire my aunt again?"

"Let's do that. If my alt even wants to."

Nod.

He asks him later. "Cir thinks the redmage thing might help."

"By what mechanism?"

"It is a pleasant experience. Might be even for you."

"I find lots of experiences pleasant."

"Do you?"

"No, he doesn't."

"Some are really easy to pretend about. Comes to the same thing."

"So if you did in fact experience this as pleasant that would be an improvement."

"Also creates another - avenue for transmission of information - if this were real I wouldn't want other people knowing that I'm not all right -"