"My mother's pretty delightful!"

And all credit for Miles's capacity to be Betan about things definitely goes to her. (Cordelia Naismith Vorkosigan talking theology with the Eldar, now there's an interesting thought...)

"I shall look forward to it."

"Me too," says Miles.

He doesn't think it's going to happen. But if he went around acting like getting back to his galaxy within a mortal lifetime was definitely impossible instead of just really unlikely, he'd end up curled up on the tilted floor of his shuttle paralyzed by despair for weeks or months, which wouldn't help anything. This way he can postpone that breakdown indefinitely - if necessary, as the years wear on, he'll resort to reminding himself that home being a different universe from here is a pretty strong hypothesis and there are no known rules for how the passage of time aligns between universes so it may well be that by the time they get around to solving the transportation problem it will only have been five minutes and the Dendarii won't even have had time to miss him.

"Or perhaps your world will figure out immortality; it seems much easier than lots of things you have figured out."

"It could happen. I'm not sure it's going to happen in time," he says. "And some of my friends don't have long to wait. But I guess I haven't told you about Asterion yet. Hm, do I have another story in me today?"

He considers this question fairly.

"I do not. More cultural exchange, or should I get out of your way and go talk sound recording devices with the spare engineers?"

"Sound recording devices would be very very important for the war."

"So I've heard. All right. See you tomorrow," he says, and heads out to look for those engineers.

They are eager to get to work on music recordings, apparently a really big deal that has been long-discussed in Valinor.

Well, here is everything Miles knows about sound recording, and everything relevant he can dig up out of his reader - not a lot, but not nothing - and he will see about finding an actual example they can take apart. He double-checks the inventory list for the pile of stuff he left here when he went off to assault Angband, and confirms that there indeed weren't any sound recording devices in it, but says that he thinks he might be able to dig something out of his shuttle and bring it over tomorrow. And in the meantime they can think about designs and figure out what materials they'll need. Engineering, yay!

They throw themselves into the work with a mixture of diligence and sheer glee.

This is a familiar mixture. Miles feels just the same.

He lets himself stay a little late, getting them started on everything, getting to know everyone's working style. Then he returns to his shuttle to sleep, and in the morning he drops by Ténië's workspace to update her on the day's progress and ask her to help him ferret out a stray comlink or something. She helps. They come up with two stray comlinks and somebody's music player with all the music still on it; he was clearly in too much of a hurry when he stripped down the shuttle pre-Angband. He mirrors the music player's data onto the shuttle's computers, but declines to bounce it to all the readers because they wouldn't be able to do anything with audio files anyway.

And they return to the shore with their loot, and he hands her one of the stray comlinks to take apart in service of her parallel engineering effort, and -

Ténië stands frozen for a moment, comlink in hand.

Then she announces in a quietly carrying voice, "I am going to go across the lake to help them reinvent sound recording and playback devices. If anyone would like to explain to me why they think that is a bad idea, I will be available to listen while I put this Miles object away in our workshop."

Announcement made, she heads for the workshop she means.

"Hey. If we were crossing the lake for any reason engineering collaboration would be the best reason but I don't want us crossing the lake. I don't think incidents of people being stupid are likely but I do think they are possible and would escalate."

"It is just," says Ténië, "so outrageously inefficient, to have me on this side of the lake, and all of the other best resources for this project on the other, and the two sides exchanging information twice a day through Miles. I do not want to cross the lake. But I would rather cross the lake than let the invention of sound recorders proceed without me."

"And if they say something provocative what do you do? If they take something as provocation and arrest you?"

"If they say something provocative I will ignore them," she says. "I know I probably made an impression when I arrived on the Ice but I am normally the opposite of dramatic. If they arrest me I will point out that arresting me makes engineering collaboration needlessly difficult."

"...fine. Be safe."

"...Should I not ask about the circumstances under which you are dramatic?" wonders Miles.

"When everyone was preparing to leave Valinor, I did not go along because I was too frightened and did not think I would be much help to the war effort since I freeze up at the mere thought of trying to fight anyone. And then they all left without me. And then I heard about the Doom. I caught up with this host as they were preparing to cross the Ice and it is all a bit of a blur but I think my exact words may have been 'I am still useless and terrified but now I am also very very angry with the Valar, I brought all of the food I could find, may I join you?' They said yes. Here I am. I think that was enough drama to last me the rest of this Age."

She puts the spare comlink away in the workshop.

And Miles leads her across the lake.

She's mostly calm to start with but by the time they reach the camp she's nearly vibrating out of her skin with contained anxiety. Doesn't slow her down much, though.

They stop. And stare, just a little.

"Hello!" says Ténië. "I am here to collaborate on the sound recorder project!"

"Hello," someone says. "I thought you stayed in Tirion?"

"I did stay in Tirion but then I heard about the Doom and I could not stay in Tirion any longer because I was too angry with the Valar. I was all set to cross the Ice by myself if that was what it took, but then I did not have to."