"I, I mean, you haven't slept in literally months it's more than reasonable."

"It comes down to your preference between trying to have the conversation now with a low-to-moderate risk that I'll fall asleep in the middle, or waiting and having the conversation after I've slept for an unknown amount of time that will probably be less than a day."

"I... it would be good to talk now if you can." She hugs her knees.

"Okay." He perches on the edge of the bed, near the desk where Annie is sat with her notes. "So, hi, I'm seventeen years old and already deciding the fate of nations. It feels very strange."

"Hi. I'm eighteen and I'm in a completely unfamiliar world loaded up on way too many magical effects and it's terrifying."

"I have a pent-up urge to shower you in every conceivable luxury, by the way, are there any particular luxuries you're feeling the lack of at the moment?"

"I could use a change of clothes that, um, fits. But that's not very likely down here." She is wearing baggy and rather short dwarven clothes from somewhere. "There were some candied fruit slices and those were great but what I mostly want right now is starch after all that random cave meat, I want to just eat an entire loaf of bread and butter or, no, like a bowl of pasta... with real vegetables... and chocolate for dessert. Um. I guess I can't usefully say I miss music, for, like, two reasons... I'd like book recommendations."

"I can give you book recommendations. I'm sure someone can get you bread, butter isn't out of the question, I'm much less sure about vegetables. I can find you a tailor who will just make clothes to your specifications, the clothing problem is solvable... I like solving problems, you might've noticed."

"Yeah. Yeah I have."

"I wouldn't've touched it on purpose," she says softly. "I'm sorry."

"Do you want it reversed? I have no idea if it's possible but if you wanted me to, I'd try. My track record on accomplishing the impossible is pretty impressive so far."

"I - I - um." She swallows. "I'm not sure if any of this is just the artifact effect protecting itself. It could be a lot that, or it could just be my general discomfort with mental tampering and not knowing what reversing it would even mean or what else would happen to me - Um, but regardless of why I feel this way my reaction is more or less no no no no no followed by a much quieter acknowledgment that it would probably be smart in the long run if, um - if."

"Well, then, I won't try it. And we can talk about it again if. And in the meantime I'm back to not knowing what to do. This all seemed much simpler back when the plan was 'have a fucking bath and then talk to Annie'."

Nod. "Sorry," she says helplessly.

"And I'm also sorry, but here we are."

"Yeah." Kneehugging. Definitely hugging only her knees and not anything else. "...I've been operating under the assumption that it was 'first person I saw', it might be that, but - I think I would have liked you anyway."

"Yeah? Fond of small sickly overachievers?"

"I wouldn't - I wouldn't put it that way."

"Well, how would you put it?"

"I don't - like most people? Most people don't seem to be trying to do anything well, or anything well-chosen. Or even like they would if an opportunity hit them on the head. So there's basically people whose company is pleasant and people whose company isn't pleasant and this hypothetical spot where somebody who was really - trying - would go, and, you just sort of run around succeeding."

Small smile.

"...What's the sort of thing you'd like to be well thought of for?" he wonders.

"...I don't mostly run on the prospect of people other than myself thinking well of me. Um, till recently. So I'm not sure I really have an answer prepared for that. But I'm proud of - my efficient turn of mind and the extent to which I manage to be altruistically motivated even though I mostly don't like individual people very much and my creativity and my ability to work on the best thing available without procrastinating or getting distracted by random other stuff."