"That's something."

Nod.

Sigh.

"If it helps to know that it absolutely wasn't the same to me it absolutely wasn't the same to me."

Nod.

"Am I dancing again?"

"I'm maybe more attuned to it since you're leaving soon. Usually I could tell myself I could get distracted after the war when I could afford it."

"Somebody might decide it's time to wave a carrot at you again. If... this has been carroty."

"I really will help them out anyway."

"Whatever Midnight tells us we don't set out to make helping us a miserable sacrifice."

"I appreciate that, I just - don't want to keep overshadowing your life."

"It's an hour. I can leave if I feel like it."

"Then you can tell them they have a very compelling carrot to dangle."

"Except they can't dangle me explicitly because of the thing with the oath. You may sometimes get fruit baskets."

"You could deoath me. I promise I'd still refrain from arranging to harass you."

"There's a waiting list. My way's too costly."

"I'll wait until the country's all stable, then, on the off chance it affects me more than anticipated."

Nod.

"Findekáno thinks that might be it. I don't know. It feels organic, but some other things also feel organic which I know to be Vala tinkering."

"Boots could check."

He makes a face. "I know that in principle 'friendly consensual mental tinkering' is a thing, but -"

Nod. "She works on Maitimos out of Angband. She used to clear up fuzzy memories for Elves out of Mandos. That kind of thing."

"Maybe if I had a big book of people to look through."

"I suggested it as a favor to you, to find out whether it was Valar or not, not as a favor to us."