"Nah, I missed you prodding me into it while I was away."

"Dinner. Who's going to prod you when you've moved to Illia's city?"

"Illia, of course."

"Won't be busy Queen-ing? It settled on my family members' shoulders pretty hard."

"We're pretty good at fitting taking care of each other into busy schedules. And we have less inherited drama to deal with."

"That you do."

"Oh, hell, people are going to try to pressure her into getting married and having kids, aren't they, so there's an heir. Well. I guess technically I'm her heir if anything happens. ...If anything happens I think I plan to appoint Andreth or someone my regent and run away screaming. Not literally screaming. That would be terrible for morale."

"Elves at least will not pressure her about that during the war. It's not unheard of to establish a line of succession that's not parent-to-child, especially with all of the obvious candidates childless. If we lost both the High King and Fingon the succession'd be rather disastrously up for grabs, but no one's suggested to him that he marry, I don't think."

"I was less worried about Elves than residents in that particular respect."

"The House of Beor has an established succession and lots of children. Illia can appoint the ones who strike her as most capable. Though the people who were in charge there before the volcanic eruption will be twice her age, I suppose some of them might resent the position..."

"Her problem," Odette says firmly. "Her problem, not mine, I have enough politics to deal with talking to your species."

"Hey! I resent that implication! Saying 'immediately stop talking or I'll light something on fire' to anyone who even mentions politics is a quite successful strategy for dealing with my family, I successfully did it for centuries."

"...I'm afraid that if I did that people might mis-estimate the magnitude of the fire under discussion or I'd be tempted."

"There's a kind of flexibility that comes with not actually being the most powerful person in the room, yeah. Thus me being terrified Maglor'd get himself killed and leave me King."

"For that among other reasons I'm glad that situation didn't last."

"Yeah, five years of that was enough for a lifetime."

"Nothing like that is ever going to happen again if I have anything to say about it."

"Saving everyone isn't your priority; getting stronger so you can eventually win this thing is. It's at this point absurdly implausible I'd end up in charge of the Noldor but if I did, it would not be a good priority for you."

"I meant 'people getting taken alive by Morgoth,' not 'you getting caught in the line of fire, I mean succession'."

"People don't get taken alive by Morgoth anymore. Maedhros has everyone carrying very fast-acting poison."

"That makes sense."

"Yep. When's the House of Beor moving?"

"About a week."

"Congratulations. We'll miss you. Your new armor should be done by then."

"Thanks. ...I'll still visit."