Senecio adn Tide II

[Mirach]

"Alright then," Senecio nodded. "Call me when the bath is ready," he said as he went with Hans pick a book.
"I was meaning to ask," he sais while browsing the library, "do Beings write books? I don't mean publishing for humans like you do, but for themsellves. Do they write down their stories or do they just remember and tell them, since they are immortal? I would really like to hear a Being story..."

---

"Toys," Svarik said immediately. "But it's alright, I can get some tomorrow."

[VisAnastasis]

" Oh, really? Actually, it is highly varied and depends a lot on how much connected to human culture that Being is. You can hardly imagine some solitary Being living in mountain to randomly sit down and start producing paper to write on, right? "Hans explained cheerfully as they were browsing through one of ten of his rooms packed with books. " Beings deeply tied to human culture often buy or get human writing tools and write for themselves, or to give books to others. Cernunnos, for example, who used to be a human king used to write a lot of his research in Old Lownandian on parchments produced in that time, I heard, and Janus, who likes to write down his knowledge systematically, wrote lot of books for himself on Spirit language, and I wrote many books as a writer, personally, in many languages. Some write on current human languages, but if we aim for universality, the language used is Spirit language, and letters are runic letters because they are drawn from inmate knowledge about fabric and there's power in them. Places where more Beings live in one place, like Solstice's and Death's court, use runic language as a writing system when something needs to be recorded. But books and libraries are something highly inspired by humanity. "he explained. "Before humanity, and among Beings that remember well, the culture of exchanging and narrating stories to each other is very common. A lot of old-fashioned Beings collect or come up with stories to exchange when they meet up. Unlike human culture, we aren't only limited to writing - because we are tied to music, there is lot of various ways to store information in fabric of the world, without just writing. Some Beings sing to special seeds, and store words in seeds that act as storage, and words echo back into their mind as if they are reading when they hold it. Some record stories by knitting threads in runic code, so you can knit a story into a scarf, and read it by carefully following along scarf knots.... Others grow flowers that can remember what is told to them and repeat it, it's quite common to use plants, so Being libraries are more like Being gardens of stores stories and knowledge... So it all depends on what Being can do. One room of my library is full of both paper books, and those weird unique "books" made by various Beings, so we could go there if you're curious and something catches your fancy, but I know lots of stories by heart, too, so I can always narrate without reading, as long as we pick the genre you're interested in... "
---

"Oh... I see. "An understanding flashed across Janus's face. " It's been so long since I built anything that can be called a children's toy... time was always in short supply when I was an Elder God, so I had to focus on the quality of life more than the quality of fun. I'm not even sure what passes for toys these days... but you know, don't you? Can I leave it up to your discretion to pick what toys you feel are fitting as your present for them? " there was some strange sadness in his eyes, as he slowly tasted each word ever so carefully as if trying to return Svarik's casual good intentions equally. " In exchange... I could teach you how to fold paper roses from paper or napkins.  It's hard to have too dark thoughts while folding colourful pastel roses... So we could talk about the deals while we fold roses to fill the remaining empty space in boxes with them if you'd like... On deal about the bag, you already should know where my offer stands... so you can tell me what you think about it. On possible deal about Simbel, I.. can't promise how much I can offer yet until we talk. The situation between me and Simbel was always... quite morally complex. I can't decide how much to help him before I understand his heart more clearly. It was honestly... always awkward and hard, making decisions tied to him, both when he was a White gardener God, as is now when he calls himself Sil Simbel, some things seem fated to stay equally troublesome... "

[Mirach]

"Oh dear, that’s a wholly new world and culture of stories and inspirations. For today though, I would love to listen to something not too long, and with a happy ending. Some of the stories that all Beings know, or at least most of them, that are so notoriously known that it's been paraphrased and used as a figure of speech, but is not known among humans. Are there any such stories?"

---

"Folding napkins into roses us a very useful skill that I will gladly learn," Svarik smiled. After Janus showed him how to do it and they were folding them together, he answered about the deals. "Yes, let's talk about the first one first. I understand your request for the bag is an adoption law specific to Hans's situation. That needs some work, though. As I understand the lawmaking process, it's necessary to look at all other cases that the law will influence, and answer the unclarities that stem from it. I feel like this specific case is just an extension of a much bigger issue that lies underneath, and that is the legal status of Beingcitizens in the kingdom. Hans is just kind of pretending to be a human before the laws that were meant for humans about titles, inheritance and all that. But Being society works a bit differently, and when you mix in the possibility of Beings adopting or marrying humans, it's even more nuanced. So, changing one adoption law doesn't seem enough to me. I will need Hans and his expertise in both societies to help me with laws that would include Beings as citizens of the kingdom with full rights, if they wish to be, and solve all related cases of family status, trade rights and other things. I honestly have no idea how long that will take though, so I don't know if it's a suitable exchange."

[VisAnastasis]

" Actually, since there are so many subtle differences between layers, and different world layers can have different strange rules, lot of Being stories tend to feel like fary tales. One of most common and popular genres are autobiographical stories. It developed from Beings telling each other about their adventures in different layers and different times. There's actually a fun pastime for Beings, to strive to make accurate stories, but also add embellishments or tiny lies for the heck of it, because it's fun to see how much you can get away with. It's also fun to use more detailed and actual locations in deeper layers in stories, so that if you want, you can basically go on little pilgrimage, and follow along with your favourite story, to see how places from it look today if they still exist. Some famous places often appear in settlings and I can talk to you about them, as they are popular places and everyone has visited them at least once or twice when they can - like a river where glowing fishes in the shapes of stars live or an island of miniature tiny dragons that are famous for their songs, or this one sublayer where giant plants grow, where there are famous fields of giant strawberries, where some can glow as big as a horse... Lot of commonly known places. But if you want story as story, most widely known and popular are stories of adventures of famous Beings. Solstice's stories are generally most widely known, since he is widely beloved both in Spirit realm, and among our people, as he was always basically a double agent that secretly helped us. So, any stories of his misadventures feel like simple nice fairy tales, though it's harder to say about happy ending, as they are mostly open-ended on Solstice's part, since he is alive and well. There;'s no extremely bright happy fairy tale ending where he finds a perfect girl and settled down happily ever after... He does often find mates he stays with happily for a while and has children with, true, but Solstice is more of a naughty rascal that is mostly stuck in his domain, but creates fun chaos whenever he gets to escape and unwind a bit, before he gets back to his obligations and guarding the Sun Vault. "

---

" Full rights... " Janus repeated quietly after Svarik, as if tasting a foreign word. " Only Beings among us who managed to loophole their way into full citizenship are Hans, Tide, Alpha and Eros, and even that is merely the result of extreme efforts and bribes on Hans's part. The rest of us... are getting by as we can, human-shaped by pretending to be human, monster-shaped, by living on the outskirts of the human world, " he explained quietly. " Do you not think... It is too much effort, changing so much, for the sake of so few? You have a decent amount of knowledge about Beings, so it's easy for you to accept it, but most normal people will find it hard to even believe the world is made from threads and deeper layers...are you going to shoulder the weight of publicly introducing us as an immortal race? Moreover, when such things are more spread, you bring more danger to your weak loved ones. Most Beings aren't strong like little Erdel, or Tide... They are like Hans, little Melody, and me. It is easier for us to act like we are just strange humans with unique lineage from Gods and Monsters in our ancestry than to present humanity a whole new immortal race they can be scared or envious of.  There are always mad people that want to kill you, and eat your corpse in vain hopes of gaining your immortality... it is too tempting. But even if you were to succeed finding a way to do it in a way humans would accept without fear, no matter how... convenient not being unprotected by law would be... It would, either way, be hard to accept putting us immortals in priority when so many mortals suffer,  " he shook his head slowly, his voice shaking a little, as if it took him great strength to stand up to Svarik, and he was anxious what the results of it would be. " It is.... too unfair. I have heard, about people like that little human Singer Zephir that Sil Simbel took under his wing recently. How he used to be imprisoned for years and tortured inhumanely, with no crime to his name... some horrors did not change at all, from my time in the human world, " his voice was tense like a spring, and his eyes avoided Svarik's. "If you focused so much of your strength on making new Being laws... What about people like Zephir, and foreigners like Highlanders, that do not want to be a part of your land, or are deemed enemies none the less? Should they just get by while you take your time to arrange Being laws?  I don't want to be given preferential treatment... while such huge chunks of mortal lives are so worse off. I just want everyone to be treated better, foreigner, Being, or human. I do not know much of laws... but just speaking of myself, I'd not dare, ask for such huge effort from you, when your fellow humans need you. Is it not easier, to accept my proposal about small adoption law change separately? Hans is one of the rare legal citizens. As an officially just a long-living unique human, he will have no trouble at all, adopting Senecio as his heir. He just wants to adopt him as a brother, not a child. I understand it is more complicated than I understand, but it seems like a much more achievable thing to ask for. I... was always in at least moderate danger, as long as I lived, and was hurt or attacked or stolen from every now and then, even when I was a God, so it would be a nightmare, too, to prosecute people just for reasonable mistakes made out of fear or poverty. I never had anyone to protect me... now, at least I have Tide and Hans on my side. It is... nice to know I have someone, who would search for me if I went missing. It is... good enough. You might think it's hypocritical of me to say such things, but I do mean them. I'd rather you focus on changes that will make sure nobody has to endure things that Mister Zephir, or Senecio and the children had to. My daily anxieties seem petty and laughable in comparison to the years of daily hell they had been subjected to. They deserve huge changes much more than a half-baked overly anxious existence like me...   In most common circumstances, I can escape danger by skipping through layers, where people in their situations have no alternatives... "

[Mirach]

"Could it be a story about Solstice? He's still alive and free, isn't he? I count that as a happy end."

---

"You are right, everyone deserves the rights. I want to include all people, not just Beings, so it wouldn't be that obvious like the law spelling directly that it includes Being. No, it would just include all persons, and somewhere else define the word 'person' so that it would include all people and Beings in the realm," Svarik said. "But you want the adoption law first, separate from that? Do you have an idea how it should work? The adoption law mostly concerns the inheritance of wealth and title, that’s why adopting someone as a child is the common option. If you adopt someone as a sibling, should the inheritance law work retroactively, as if they were your sibling all along and they get a proportion of the wealth that you inherited from your parents? But if you already have other siblings, that would take a part of their money as well, which seems problematic. Also you may not have inherited anything, and made your fortune yourself. What part of that then goes to the adopted sibling? As I see it, sibling adoption would be a tool to make someone a part of your family without making them your actual heir, unless you have no children. You could decide to gift them a part of your fortune, but are not obliged to. What I've learnt about making laws is, always think about the worst case how a particular law could be used and make sure it's not harmful. So what's the worst people could do with sibling adoption? Since you don't become an heir, just get the family name and title, I guess people could use it to get into noble houses, maybe even pay for the title. Which actually doesn't seem that bad, considering the usual way is marrying into it, and often marrying someone you don't love. So, let's imagine that would be a thing. We might get nobles making money by adopting anyone who pays enough. We might get noble families with hundreds of members... which I'm not sure if it’s a good or bad thing. Can you think of any other way that might go wrong?"

[VisAnastasis]

" Well, free is relative since the start of the war - because before the war poor bastard was travelling most of his free time, but when war began, Sun Vault got made to keep Death's sword and other forbidden things safe, and likewise, he needed to stay available in one place when we'd be needing his help secretly. So, after the war, his freedom was much more limited, not because he was trapped by someone, but because he was too kind for his own good, making himself the canary in a golden cage all on his own. That's why, while he loves to sneak out and create havoc and have fun, he'd only sneak out when times were peaceful, and he'd have someone of trust to keep watch over Sun Vault for a while. Solstice is too nice, that silly rascal, and he was even nice to Two-headed Raven when he visited him before the Long Night, despite his grieving for White Eagle's loss... It is inconvenient that he had to get reborn right now because if he was an adult, I'd be processing with trying to make peace with the Spirit Kingdom already, instead of it being kept in the air like this while I'm still deciding by pros and cons. It'll do you good to know some of Solstice's stories to get more feel for the Being storytelling culture because Solstice is so beloved. "

---

" I understand that it's a waste since there aren't legal bonds between adult siblings unless the wills state so... It's just that it's something that would make Senecio happy. That is enough for me. I have no family, so in my eyes, options look the same, as your older sibling can raise you just as a parent can, but it is the view in Senecio's eyes that is important, " Janus apologised shyly. " I... I don't know about humans, but getting adopted as a sibling seems like an alternative Beings would be fond of, so they could become families of humans they like. Immortality always complicates things, though, because you may dearly love a couple of generations, only for the next generation to break ties with you. That's why so far, when they love a human family, Beings often take on the role of the family's Godfather, which is a symbolic one without legal ties and can be voided at any time when Being is no longer wanted. It would be a bigger hassle to have documented adoptions... But... it is a little sad, isn't it? To know no brotherly bonds you have will ever be written down in any family tree, just because you are immortal. Just because it won't last forever, does not mean it is unimportant right now... Should I have not made humans prostetics, or tools, just because they'd only use them for a short while compared to my eternity? " Being shook his head quietly. " The most important time is the present. It seems to me that any dangers that can appear with the adoption of a child are the same as adopting an adult. In old age, before we straightened things out to a more acceptable degree, there were no standards, and you could adopt children and abuse them or use them as free labour... Now, there is a system that examines at least the bare minimum things like living conditions and won't pass certain lines - like allowing the wealthy to adopt children and throw them in their coal mines. As long as there is the above force that has to approve final adoptions manually, I think you can prevent the darkest things. Hm... If you're worried, why not leave more complex adoption approvals to Sil Simbel? So that there's less chance for it to be abused, because people would have more hesitance trying to trick your current God, than if they were tricking some poor law clerk. Using Simbel for tricky things where you fear people might scam you might be a good idea. Would part of your legal system crumble if Sil Simbel died? Sure..." he shifted uncomfortably. " But if he perished, you'd have way more monumental problems than adoption laws, so I think it would be a good idea to centralise some of the power, by making Simbel an overseer of various things. We all used our God statuses as shields for the misfortunate. Whether it's for children, poor, hurt, sick, or disabled, you just have to do your best... I can give some advice, but my focus was mostly on the disabled, and I don't know much about other options. I often claimed as my priests the people born unwell, or crippled in wars, to take them off the streets, build them prostetics to give them a better life and teach them some basic maintenance work so that they could help me do part of my Godly duties... Being God of new beginnings and all that. My means of helping the unfortunate were less whimsical, and I was only one person, so I trained helpers among my priests so that I could accomplish more. Sil Simbel is way more capable and charismatic Deity, and you're not as limited as I was, so you should be able to come up with a lot of things for him to do to lighten your load... "

[Mirach]

"Not trapped by someone still counts as free to me, otherwise very few people would actually be truly free. Almost everyone has some bonds or obligations at some place. So a notoriously story about Solstice according to your choice, is that okay?"

---

"Okay, that might work. A purely formal relationship, but approved by a god. That sounds doable if Sil Symbel would agree to it," Svarik nodded.

[VisAnastasis]

"Deal. You're in luck, you're looking at an expert Solstice fan, who knows gazillion of his adventures and misadventures", Hans waved away brightly. " Alright, since we no have to spend a while browsing through the books, how about we decide on other things while Tide makes the bath? Should we go to the kitchen to pick out some specific snacks? or should we pick a room, prepare the base, and fill it up with a gazillion soft blankets and pillows? Do you want us to go to your bedroom, or set up camp in some other one? The room with the pool was somewhere we seem to end up in often, though we do go to makeup room quite frequently too, it seems, that one is quite nice and cosy option as well, with its soft crowded pastel feels. So, where should be set things up? " he asked, more bubbly than before - his feeling clearly reflecting soft excitement, as it seemed, after being ill rather faint and ill for few days after he tried to Sing, and now feeling better, he quite looked forward to making memories as family with them, waving his hands excitedly. " Mind you, I'd not say no if we'd be going for a pillow fort concept, but you seem hesitant about childish things still, so I can adjust and be more conservative to suit whatever you'd prefer, but for future reference, when you can get over mental hurdles of it all, Tide loves making and snuggling beneath pillow forts, just a heads up. "

---


" It has a nice ring to it, actually... Turning my request into a way to give people a chance to have their bond blessed by their God. I was mostly secular when it came to worship, so I was mostly blessing abstract things, like beginnings, transitions and endings, such as the start of the new year, blessing milestones of human perseverance, or doing blessings for funerary rights for the deceased, but I know Eros used to bless marriages, Solstice used to bless crops, and White Gardener used to bless water... he never gave blessings to customs like adoptions, but it still sounds like something that he would enjoy unless his temperament has changed beyond any recognition I can glimpse. So, if he accepts... does that mean you accept the deal? " Being looked up quietly. "  If for a moment I believed you are planning war campaigns, and may use my bag to distribute war rations easier or have better control over troops on the battlefield, I'd never offer it... But what is the worst thing you could do in a time of peace? Use it to travel more safely and quickly, so your time is more wisely spent? Perhaps borrow it sometimes when you have a faraway patient to heal, and it would be too dangerous to fly too fast in the open air? Such gentle purposes suit you and are worth borrowing for. I can not say that I am not worried about giving you a taste of something that can so easily awaken greed... but I am not without a heart. It does not sit right with me, that your sick friend and partner with a child would spend most of the night flying through the bitter cold... I hope you won't take how hard it was for me to offer it as an offence. It is not that your friendly shape and sunny smile are not of the highest quality I've sampled so far, " the creature tried to smile frailly, as it seemed it was doing its best to apologise for its shaky tone and attitude, fiddling with the rose it finished folding. " I just have bad eyesight when it comes to people, and the way you shine makes it all the harder for me to see you clearly... "

[Mirach]

"I would like us to go to my room," Senecio said. "It's still quite empty, so there's a lot of room for pillows, and I feel like some nice memories would really help it to feel like a comfortable space  much more than furniture."

----

"I get what you mean," Svarik nodded. "And I wish I would be able to give you some better reassurance. Are you comfortable enough with my offer to make it a deal or would you like something more?"

[VisAnastasis]

" In that case, let's celebrate our first sleepover in your room by going ridiculously overboard! How about being cooped up under a huge cosy blanket fort, and sharing a story in the dark as we snack, perhaps only lightened up by the soft shimmer of that cute sparkle of your first blessing, huh? How does that sound, my cutest lemon pie? " Hans waved around with his hands with chaotic excitement as he tried to tempt him. " Since we technically finished story picking early, should we go to the kitchen to pick snacks first, or would you like to go to storage where blankets and pillows are so we can pick up ones that'd make the most sturdy, cosiest fort? Oh, we can also instead overuse the mansion's ability to transport objects directly to the room. We could ask for it to have a certain number of blankets and pillows to appear directly from storage to your bedroom. Oh, we can check and see what would happen if we give it some outrageously large order! One time Tide instructed the room to have a hundred cookies appear on the side table, but the table was too small for that number, and room programming got confused, and cookies ended up crowding upon it and falling all over the edges to the floor. We could order hundreds of blankets to appear, and see programming go wild as it spawns them! That would not be as systematic as picking the perfect pillow fort material one by one, but it sure as heck would be hard to forget, alright! "

---

" I know it's not something that directly eases me, but it is something to make Hans's, Tide's and Senecio's family forming at least a little easier... so it is worth it. Other than that, I only have the children's desires to fight for, and you're already coming to their birthday tomorrow... That's plenty. I don't have any grand dreams other than those of food and safety, and it would be too hard to phrase any appeal for safety, without the risk of some word backfiring accidentally. I would never bind you with any contract in which you could end up killed if you don't fulfil it. For now, it is enough that you casually came and met me alone in an isolated place, without fear I may have lured you here alone to capture or hurt you, talking instead about grand soft dreams of full rights for everyone without a shade of worry on your face... it is an attitude that betrays clear conscience, so it's enough to make this whole thing... worth a try, "Being explained tentatively. " Still, greedy as I am... May I share my hopes as a request, instead of part of the deal? I hope that even if you desperately want something from me... you will always try to get it peacefully first. There is nothing more terrifying, than the despair of a great man burdened with the happiness of too many. I am worried enough already how will you take my indecisiveness to help Sil Simbel. The more you love someone, the more ready you are to go to insane lengths to keep them safe or happy... That is why I can not hate the king who... harmed me. I had good reasons to refuse his plea for help when his kingdom was in danger... I did not want to give humans means of making wars more inhumane, and I had people I cared for in both kingdoms at war, so how could I pick one side and tell the other side they weren't worthy of my help? But, naturally, he felt betrayed, and I hurt him first... That is why I can not hate him. And I could not hate you, either, if you did something horrible to me out of love for your family and people, "his eyes were locked down, as he was quietly looking at the level of Svarik's hands while tensely pulling out words one by one. "   Everyone... is ugly, when desperate. If... if I wasn't desperate for morsels of food or days without torture, I'd never build tools of war. I, who ate my principles not for any gentler purpose, but merely for the sake of getting crumbs of rotten bread as a side dish,  am much more vile than one who would do evil to protect their loved ones. Hope swells within me when I see the quality of your smile, but I reign it down, as I know he used to smile just as softly before despair claimed him. I don't have any unreasonable expectations of... full rights or... protection by law from people who are by position above laws. I just dread being put in a position where... where I can not say no again...  "

[Mirach]

"I just have one question," Senecio said. "If we make 100 blankets appear, can we make them disappear, too? Or disappear half of them if we find out that there is no place left to move in the room? Cookies on a plate is one thing, but have you ever tried ordering something bigger than the room? What would happen if we order a thousand of blankets? I kind of want to try, but I've got the feeling it might not be safe to be in that room when you do that..."

---

Svarik nodded, his expression getting more grave. "I know. It's scary, to think about what you would be able to if someone found the right kind of pressure. They tried, so I know that I would sooner die than do something to harm others, but what if I wouldn't be able to die? What if they would threaten to torture someone I love instead of me? Everyone has a breaking point. I think the best we can do is stick together with people we trust and rely on them to prevent a situation where we would reach that point. So on my own, I can't reassure you about what would happen if things became desperate, but I can reassure you that I now have a lot of good people who I can rely on to prevent that from happening."

[VisAnastasis]

"Room works by shifting things through fabric slightly, so more shifting is using up more energy and makes mansion programming go a little wild, it's fun to watch fabric twist around itself, confused by how to properly put things inside. Oh, it's even more fun when you're asking hard things! Rooms are in same time programmed not to do requests that can hurt people, so it wouldn't, for example, give you 1000 knives if you asked, because there is no way to give that much safely at once. It takes suffocating into account, too, so if you asked for a million blankets, it wouldn't give them to you - it would fill just enough so it leaves some space above your head for air, but you would probably be all piled up in blankets all around you, with only free above your head. You definitely should keep windows and doors open if we're going that far, though, because pushed-out air has to go somewhere. I didn't try with anything fancy, specifically, but Tide was mischievous once, and he wanted to prank me, so he used his higher authority to see what would happen if he requested the contents of all juices from our storage room... Idiot asked for contents, instead of bottles, to see what would happen, and he underestimated how much juice we had stocked since there was a party planned those days. Juice mixed up and filled almost the whole, room and had us all floaty in it like in giant whirlpool as all bottle contents were mixing up at once, but there was suddenly not enough space for air, and more content was incoming, so doors and windows broke to let the excess out, and then it kept pouring in for a while. Whole my resting room was stained and smelled like flowers and fruit for weeks! "he laughed heartily as he explained. "In the end, we had to call Janus, Alpha and Eros all, to fix it properly. It was ridiculous, but a very Tidish thing to do, and he was super embarrassed afterwards, it was very cute, you should have seen it! He was much more moderate afterwards, though, and limited his tests to the table with food and such, heh!  "


---

"His goodness was corrupted by invasion... mine by torture. It would make me sad, to see someone change you so much, too," the creature whispered, and unexpectedly, sadly, it then pointed at King's nails. "'You know... little Svarik... When nails are pulled out, and then grown back by fast regeneration, or supernatural means, since growth is too fast, the new nails have very slightly different surface texture... I only have good eyes, and I know it too well because they'd often pull out my nails. Sil Simbel healed you, and helped grow back your pulled nails quickly with his healing ritual, didn't he? I noticed the texture when you were healing Hans's tail... From the day we met, you gave me such a sad truth to learn by chance. I will tell you a sad truth in turn, so we are even. When your limbs are cut off.... when you are a Being with fast regeneration.... things grow back, but your energy is used. More they... do things... cut and mangle you... the hungrier you feel. It had only been days, before I was already skin and bones, with a maddening weight of hunger of months. And my body just kept regenerating endlessly so. Even.. even when I used up all stored energy my rebellious body forced me to feed on my own pain, guilt and fear, and condescension, hate and twisted joy of my torturers to force me to stay alive. I even tried to go out on my own terms before it's too late... But I do not have great strength, like Tide... I only have this damn regeneration.  No matter how much I bashed my head against the cold floor, my face just got disfigured from fractures and I grew hungrier. My skull would have healed already by the time it took me to raise my head back up for another blow... It even refused to let me die an honourable death, before I stained my hands with blood, "the creature explained with a hoarse heavy voice, trembling with unease." I know better than many how deep one's despair can be, and I don't want it for you. You said you have good people who you can rely on to prevent that... but I am not a good person, so I don't know if you would like, having an an ally like me. I don't want to force you. It is just that, some things, like your request to help Sil Simbel, are something too big, that can not be covered by exchanges of deals between strangers. That is a kind of thing that, if you want to do it right, would require much more of my power and time and risk, and I can only do such things for an ally, at the very least. I always admired and pitied White Gardener, and I regretted, not being able to help against his disability, when I was a God of the Disabled. I want to help, but my knowledge has a lot of confidential things only I or few know, so what I can do for you is limited if we are talking a stranger to a stranger... I hope you aren't misunderstanding my hesitance as coercion. I would feel very grieved if you had to despair over something preventable, but I also can't help someone unless I am sure they will not one day betray Tide and make him sad, so more concrete ally status is required. By what I see, you have covered most of the possible dangers, but the weakest link in the chain of your goodness is Simbel. He is the only one among your friends who can never run away from danger and is easiest to use against you... "

[Mirach]

Senecio chuckled. "I see you already have the more crazy experiments covered. So how does it work the other way? How do you dismiss things? And what would happen if you order a hundred blankets and dismiss 103?"

---

"Do you think so?" Svarik asked quietly. "He can’t leave, that’s true, but his roots reach all over the city, and his pond is in a safe place..."

[VisAnastasis]

" Oh, if you put a bigger number than you ordered, the room will try to identify any same kind of thing, so if there's enough extra ones on the bed, it might just steal your blankets along with it! Once in a while, if the number you say is higher than what you dismiss, it might confuse some cloak for a blanket, but the recognition system generally got so good and refined over the years, it is a true masterpiece and labour of love. So it rarely mistakes things nowadays. As for how to dismiss things, you only need to know the location where you want to send things back and say it. If you don't know the exact location, you can always just command that it goes back to where it was taken from. All rooms have names tied to them, so you just need to memorize the names you need, I can give you an official list, but for now, the rooms most urgent for you to know should be Furniture storage, the Main kitchen, and the Family vault. As my future heir, you have the same permissions set as I do, officially, from today forward, so you have all the power to distribute things from official rooms in whatever way you see fit, " Hans proclaimed extremely brightly as if he was bubbling with excitement to inform him, with pride and satisfaction overflowing from his words like honey, as he dramatically waved with his hands while he spoke. " Oh, by the way, since you have the highest possible permission setting enabled, you can also sent things to rooms you are not in currently, just by stating what you want to send from which room. For example, when there are days we are too busy to meet, him with Beings, or me with human duties, he would sometimes order pies to appear in room where I am in, and I'd order colorful cookies back to his room. If you know where he is, even when you're apart, as long as you're in the house and know what you want to send is in stock, you can use system in that way, you. "

---

" I am not worried about danger from humans. It would be hard for humans to kill him, as, even if they catapult heavy boulders or destroy a building on top of the pond, as long as roots remain deep down, Simbel will live. But it's a supernatural danger that worries me greatly... He must know it well enough, too. No wonder he is trying to train the vampire folk you have to protect themselves. You have put together a very... politically insecure blender of people in one place. White Eagle was generally hated by demons, and peace-loving Spirits, yes... but when he died, because he was left in such a pitiful state, it was not worth seeking revenge on him for most, and I learned of this only later, too, but Tide also widely put a ban on his people trying to attack White Gardener, because the pond God was so dedicated to helping humans and Spirits, and, not being able to move freely, he could not hunt demons personally, and only demons his priests would catch were those that attacked them, anyway... so it was a very neutral state. It just was not worth taking vengeance, when he worked for humans quietly and lived so pitifully, abandoned by his former world... You could even say seeing him live so miserably was a satisfying revenge for many. But now, when he has a new body, great life, huge support from the ruler, and the only real remaining God? There will certainly be some Beings, unaffiliated with us, that will be wrathful when they see him living that well. But even that, can be dealt with, with proper enough force... But you also have Spirit Kingdom conflict. It's very few Beings, even from those selfish cruel Spirits he called friends, that visited him at all, since he died... but all demon hunters idealised White Eagle, as a hero above all, who sacrificed himself in the battle against demons, and even kept fighting them after death... But now... " Creature shook his head with great sadness. "Now, we have... an unprecedented situation. You have a legacy of the White Eagle, defending and protecting lower demons, and teaching them White Eagle's swordsmanship to protect themselves... and you have him raising Erdel, a demon with so much potential that, if raised well, he might surpass even the great Grandel. You have a legacy of White Eagle, so worried about that dangerous demon, that he even gave him his own sword... I have never witnessed such an event, little Svarik. Never before, has White Gardener, who treasured that sword above all, given it away on such a far journey, not even to his high priests. It is that precious sword. It gives me hope about our allyship, that his change of heart seems genuine... but I am afflicted with worry about the shape your despair could potentially take, " Being whispered, indeed, being unexpectedly straightforward and warm, informing him gently and patiently of the bleak truth. " If you only had demons as potential enemies of Simbel, you could ask Spirit realm for support, if you only had demon hunters as enemies against some innocent demonic existence like little kid Erdel, you could ask demons... But you are in a unique situation, because you have Sil Simbel and Erdel in one place, former demon hunter, and demon, apparently current raiser of demons, and a ridiculously high high demon. Hans is considering soon trying to start peace talks with Spirit realm so situation with Death being hidden with us doesn't escalate into conflict, so, on one hand, it might be good to tie yourself to Tide's side, so Spirit realm doesn't treat Beings under your care too rashly, and be forced to put Tide and you in one basket, and not attack you so they don't worsen the conflict... but on other hand, Sil Simbel is too tempting target, because of how insanely much White Eagle was idealised... Think about it. If humans fight him, he can do perfectly fine... But think about his limited range and inability to run, like Erdel can. If Demon Hunters come and hunt him, and he is forced to pursue them to protect humans of the city, Simbel will automatically lose, if the fight requires jumps too high in the air, or if he has to fight on the edges of his influence, along city walls, and can't control his body well. Humans can't, but Being could have various ways to kill or gravely harm supernatural create, or poison his roots, too. My... weirdly shaped relationship with Simbel started while he was still White Eagle, true, but I have known him most as White Gardener, and I adored him for who he was toward humanity. I was sad when I would have to refuse to meet him, and had to put on a mask of an uninterested busy reclusive Spirit God before him, so he would not find out what I really am. It was tense, lying to him for all the time he knew of me, yes... But there was also a lot of joy, in working with him. Our attributes matched well. God that builds prostetics, and God that heals have a lot of overlap in helping people, and it had an intricately woven exchange of half-truths, but the results still had a lot of joy. I would not want him to die either way, but now that he gave his best line of defence, his sword, just to soothe the anxiety of that poor jumpy little child, Erdel, I don't want him to die or be hurt even less He must have known what dangers his changed actions could mean for his future, but he still does them... that is why it is hard for me, to not fall yet again. I, anew, am in a situation where it would be safer for me not to meddle, but where I would be too sad not to. Kids these days are so troublesome...  "

[Mirach]

"That's cute, but.... wait a minute. What exactly are you saying? You say that I am your future heir, but you are not mortal, so what does it mean? And what does it mean when we're family according to Being traditions? I'm sorry it's not a tactful question, but I don’t like not knowing. I'm afraid that I'll assume something and overstep what I'm actually allowed to do. Please, can you explain me what my position here actually is? You say I have the highest permission and access to the Family vault, but I don’t know if it means what I think it means, what actually is there and what I can do without asking and what I need to ask about. Without knowing that, I can't really stay here without feeling like a guest still."

----

"Erdel is an adult," Svarik said. "I know you see him as a kid when you regard him as a newly created demon, but he was an adult before that, and he's figuring out his powers still, but he's no more kid than I am. And Sil Simbel isn't what the world sees him as, either. He's not White Eagle, or a ghost of him. He is someone else. He does have the memories of White Eagle, like someone can remember a dream of being someone else, but that doesn't make him White Eagle. He is also figuring out who he is, and even changed his name to reflect that. White Eagle is dead. His friends and his enemies should learn that. You asked about him before because you are unsure about helping him, so that's what I can tell you. He is a creature who was relieved to learn that he is not the person from his memories, but someone new. He also could be considered a kid, by your reasoning, even though he came into being long ago. He couldn’t really be himself for a long time and is just figuring it out. He likes making friends and does not discriminate whether they are demons or spirits or human. A friend is more important to him than an old sword. He likes the color pink and is a bit starved for attention and eager to please after centuries alone, but not naive. He enjoys having a real body like someone who was born without legs getting working prosthetic legs. What else would you like to know about him?"

[VisAnastasis]

"I don't get what confuses you. You'll be my heir officially the moment I humanly adopt you in human way, but you're already my family in the Being way, so naturally, your permissions in the house would never have been small. But just because I haven't adopted you yet on any human paper too, does that meet our bond should wait for some papyrology to be validated? " Hans snorted through his nose a little more quietly, a touch tenser. " So, I just enabled you the same kinds of permissions I have from the start, instead of waiting for some arbitrary moment in the future. You can take things, rearrange things, take money when you feel like it, whatever it is in the moment. Should I restrict you for no reason, just to make a pretence game of raising your permissions a little bit every once in a while, as a reward for behaving? " Spirit put arms to his hips more sternly. " Are you crawling a leash that much, Seine? I see no reason, why I should come up with some arbitrary rules or wait until I sign some petty documents, to do what I want to do. It is very simple, my house is our house kind of family promise, and I made that a while ago. What's the benefit of me acting hard to get in front of you, when you've already got me? "

---

" That is why I said children are troublesome little things... I meant on both. What a child is is not the same in our and human terms. Something can be thousands of years old, and still be a child due to lack of proper forming experienced... like your Sil Simbel. Or something can be as mature in mind as an adult, but can you call it an adult if it hasn't grown into its powers fully? " Being asked him quietly, not in reprimand. He shook his head somehow sadly, as he took another napkin to fold one more rose. " Little Svarik... When... Hans just clothed me with body again... it was this form as you see it, one of an adult. But because my body was so new, I needed time to settle into it properly, and for anything of my old powers to mature again to the point I could use them. It was the body unused to being cloth for Being soul. I had to learn how to walk without falling again, learn how to hold pens again, learn how to speak again, and learn how to create things again without being overwhelmed with panic... Just because I had memories of an adult, it's useless, if body and soul aren't in full tune yet. Can you call that an adult? Some things can only be a matter of time. Like for your little Erdel. He has adult memories and maturity, and when you see him jumping around, you certainly think he is well adjusted, right? But... it is like... with human teas, you see. When you have a water, leaves and sugar, you have all ingredients for a tea, but it's not a tea yet, isn't it? At what point water turns into a tea? Right now, you have all ingredients for an adult Being, but it's not an adult yet. He needs to mature, and grow into his blessings and nature, to figure out and shape himself according to what is true to his heart and essence... Do you call existence that is just formed, and ever so vaguely and slightly defined, an adult, just because he can easily bend human spoons, and hold philosophical conversation? Is strength and maturity a measure of a man, or is he not just a child too mature for his actual age? At best, you can stretch and call him a teenager. A cup of bitter tea with leaves just put in, and no sugar to sweeten it yet. Even worse.. at this crucial formative moment, what if you add poisoned leaves instead of healthy ones? Instead of forming into a sweetly fragrant, best version of itself, it would be the version that would only be tea by technicality, " Being shook his head, sounding genuinely a little confused. " Why should there be any rush, to calling undefined existence defined? I likewise, thought of Sil Simbel as a child in his own right. A child can kill you too, though, you know. So it's only natural I am afraid, no matter how unsightly my fear may look to you. He has a lot of space to grow, now that he has a body, a space of growth he could never have, when he was just a shadow of White Eagle, struggling to keep being White Eagle, even though more time passed, and more we interacted, further apart were the times, when he would lament his past, and more frequent were the times, when he would be happy working with me, and helping humans with me. But... you need to understand... all cooperation we had was based on a lie. A white lie, to the White God. A lie, that I was some Spirit, doing his own thing, not caring much about anyone, but working with him because our attributes aligned. It was a lie, because I was a Demon, and I was always quite fond of him... but I would never be welcome at his table, had he knows what I was, " he whispered more darkly. " You know that too, don't you? Just because he does not see himself as White Eagle anymore, does not mean he did not inherit White Eagle's hate toward demons. It was his most consistent and known trait, after his deep love for humanity. You can't pretend that my surprise at how much he suddenly changed is not realistic. Or can you claim with a clear conscience that my fear was unjustified? White Gardener loved humanity to death and would perish for it without a second thought, but he also ate any demons thrown into his pond without a second thought, either... " he gulped. " Sure, those were corrupted existences that were harming humans and losing miasma and poisoning them with it, but how is my fear not an appropriate response? "

[Mirach]

Senecio looked down uncertainly. " No, I'm not waiting for papers or something," he murmured. "I know you've accepted me, I just don't know what that means for me, and I don't want to assume and be wrong. In a family, people can gave different roles and rights. Some families share everything while some have strong boundaries about what belongs to whom.  I don’t want to make this about money, but that's what I'm most unsure about because we're so unequal in it, and it's where I'm most afraid of overstepping. Should I ask or can I take from it freely, and what happens if I take too much? Not that I would, but I want to know. I've been talking to Tide about what it means to me to have a patron, and I understood we view that term differently. I get why you don't like it as much, but I prefer it because it's something I understand. I know the boundaries of it and I feel free to move within them. Family... I don’t really understand."

---

"It is, with what you know. But as you said, people mature. When he was still White, he didn't know better than to follow the opinions he thought were his. But Sil is forming his own opinions, and he understands things differently now. He's really fond of Erdel. Do you think he would kill his friend because he is a demon?"

[VisAnastasis]

" Every family is different, but you already know what kind of family is mine, don't you? I am in charge of earning money and making sure nobody is hungry or lacking in the house, and Tide is in charge of playing and cheering people up, and making this house a home. We didn't sit down and put roles on paper. We just decided to do what we wanted to. Before we got to live in this big mansion, it was more often that I would focus on defending us, as a Singer, and he would be in charge of doing labour to earn us money for food. Family is fluid .You, too, can pick what feels fulfilling to you. Your only real duty is to be the most full version of yourself. And regarding money, well... How do I explain it... " Being grinned mischievously,  but his hands that were rubbing against each other revealed nervousness." Technically, you see, you have the same permissions as me... That is to say, your permissions about money are even higher than Tide's. You can take out how much you need, or order room to manifest how much you need directly to your wallet. Tide also had such permission at start, but we discovered he had really bad impulse control. If he has intrusive thought that tells him something would be too fun not to do, he'll do it in heat of the moment and regret it and be embarrassed later. He gets too blinded when he has unlimited money and would bankrupt us in a heartbeat, so we discovered small regular allowance system works better for him than giving him lot money at once, because then he would spend huge money each day, not having stop on how much he can eat or drink at once like regular people. But you are much more down to earth than Tide, so I gave you same permissions as me. Even if you want to buy something really big and don't have time to consult me, you can do it, because I know you will not be swayed or swindled as easily as carefree Tide is. And hey - what's that about being in trouble? Did Tide get in trouble when he massacred my room with all juice of the mansion, waisting insane amount of money on repairs in the process? It was big headache for me, and there was scolding, but that's just something that happens with family. If you suddenly began wasting money extravagantly, buying buildings left and right, getting wasted or gambling, organising extravagant orgies, I would be in a bit of a pickle, as it would  be disappointing, and I would also get in more conflict with Sage's kids and grandkids, because they would worry and insist you are taking advantage of me, and I would be having a headache - but that's just something that happens within a family, does it not? We might fight if we disagree sometimes , and I am specifically  very against gambling, as it's a troublesome vice to overcome, but you are our kid. It is within your right to cause us trouble and  give us headaches sometimes as you grow into best version of yourself,... And... "  Hans stuttered shyly." And to be honest, even before we were that close I worried about money imbalance, as it would put me in a bit hated position  in Sage's family if I would be giving you money for nothing, but  your theatre pay was tainted with your punishment for your crime, so it was a bit of a pickle, so when we made a makeup deal, I was glad I could figure out how to do it neatly, so that you have plenty to cover your needs, without you feeling like you are receiving charity and get your pride hurt. More importantly, though.. makeup and all that.. it was important matter to me, and there's power imbalance between us and all that... " He coughed, his face redder." It could easily be unpleasant, if you felt obliged to do it because I am your superior and you feel like you have no choice but to follow my whims. It would be unpleasant if task I ask from you every day before we go out is something you do over your will or feel taken advantage for. That's why I wanted to give you plenty of allowance in exchange for it, so that you don't feel annoyed being asked to do it all the time. It seemed like arrangement that would be most comfortable to you so that's why I offered it. I can still keep technically giving it to you as an allowance, but it's getting a little awkward for me to pretend that you can't just take whenever and act like there's some grand limit. I already  bought a building for actors, Janus and kids to live in, the moment you expressed wish for it, and for such big things, I would still like us to do it together, so nobody rips you off, but it's not like you couldn't have done it yourself, if you wanted to. Letting you ask me for  permission first is nothing but a magic trick, a slights of hand that makes you look away from what is really going on. What is really going on is that you can take whatever you want when you want, and either buy it yourself, or go to some of my aides and arrange them to go through with it. Do you dislike it, that leash you are struggling so hard to fit your head into and don't damage buly accident doesn't exist in the first place?  Leash is a lie, my littlest apple  pie... "

---

"  The conviction in your voice... it is beautiful. But how can you be so sure?" Janus gulped, his eyes shaking. Svarik could glimpse a streak of hope creature struggled so hard to suppress, flashing in corner of his eyes. " Our history is so complicated... I can't even imagine how he would respond meeting me... My lies coloured everything between us... You see, when Spirit wars started, most Demon Gods escaped and stopped operating out of fear. I was afraid as well... But people needed my services too much. I couldn't bring myself to quit and fail everyone... So I continued operating, relying on hiding within my temples and not showing my face much, and avoiding all Beings. Everyone thought I was just some reclusive distant Spirit... Because what Demon would be mad enough to keep being a God so openly in middle of a great war?" He smiled frailly." So, it is no wonder that White Eagle thought so, too. And at one point, as he was travelling, that crazy bastard just... Began donating bits of money when times were not well for my church, or more importantly, rare materials I would need for prosthetics. It was so helpful... How could I refuse kindness of my enemy, an enemy who was full of admiration of my work and good intentions? He would bring my priests rare materials when he could, and when he would meet disabled people he would send them to me to help them in return. The madness started from there, and... When White Eagle died, I continued the madness," his hands that were folding a rose were shaking. " From then on... Initiative was mine. When I had hurt people, I would send them to White Gardener for healing, when years for his church were bad, I would donate money or food to him to keep him afloat. You remember the time I said I built giant clock tower in capital? That year was very bad year for the hin ,  as he was in conflict with king of that time, and they weren't feeding him enough. My priests didn't like me doing  that much, but I still donated all of my profits for that clock to White at that time, and... Ever since then, for couple decades... All untill time I was captured... His priests would send my main temple homemade bread baked and sweetened and packed full of his flowers... A loaf that required  lot of effort and care and flowers to make.... One loaf every month, for decades, until I was captured," he paused the folding, because his hands were too unsteady." I... I could not even eat it, because his flowers would burn me... But he knew bread was my favourite offering, and he made his priests bake me the best bread they could. It doesn't matter that I could never eat it without it hurting me. The weight of good intentions of that bread still haunts me. I don't even know what to say to him... He thought he had at least one Spirit that was protective and worried about him, but the whole undefined unnamed thing we had was built on my deception. He was deceived, from before he even existed as a pond. He was deceived from the moment curious White Eagle stepped into one of my temples, thought it was lovely and began leaving offerings for me, unaware I am one of very people he is seeking to kill... I have no idea how to entangle this yarn of lies... "

[Mirach]

"Okay..." Senecio murmured, processing the information.  "Okay. I'm sorry, maybe you said it before or alluded to it, but I needed it to be spelled clearly, without any allusions. I wasn't sure. I didn't know what it meant. What it all meant... Otherwise I'd be much more overwhelmed by it. I am now, although not as much as I would be if I'd be hit by the full meaning right at the start, I suppose. So, that's good. This is what you meant by it all the time? I didn't know... I don't have much experience with a family like yours. I wanted the leash because I didnt know what other option I have. I could only understand either having a leash or nothing at all. Please, can I hug you?"

---

"It doesn't sound like such a terrible yarn of lies to me," Svarik said. "I would start with the truth in it, and from what you told me, it feels like there is much of it. Did he ever ask you if you were a demon? It's not your fault that he assumed something about you that wasn't true. It would be dangerous for you to correct his assumption, so of course you didn't. That was your only lie, while everything else was true. The deeds that he admired you for were true. His gifts were true, too. And after he became White Gardener, there was a lie from his side too. The lie of being White Eagle, that he didn't yet know was a lie at the time. The lie of hating demons, when his hate were just the memories of someone else. So I would say it's easy: just get rid of the lies and keep the truth."

[VisAnastasis]

" Is there a leash, to prevent you from it, or strings, forcing you away? You are free, Seine. Free to throw hands with me if I make you mad... or hug me, if I make you content. Whether we argue or get along, arguments come and go, but family stays... " Spirit whispered, and despite the fact he was more anxious about the matter after Senecio responded more distantly to him when human adoption was brought up, he couldn't help but be hopeful with the actor's last words, tensing up like a spring, with anticipation. "It is... not that I don't want your affection. I... can just not express preferences too strongly, you know... not, as long as power imbalance stands between us. I don't want to form a bad habit between us, where you'd feel obliged to hug me to reward me for treating you well. I don't want you to do things because you think, hey, Hans would like it, so let's do it... I don't want to act in a way that sets expectations for you before I can see you're comfortable not following them when you don't feel like it, " it seemed Spirit had similar concerns as Tide, although not tied to lovemaking, but exchanges of affection, well aware of Senecio's habit of trying to always meet the other's wishes. " You can freely scold me if I'm the one who's overstepping your boundaries and doing something that makes you mad. But... if I did get it right and made you happy this time... " he hesitantly and shyly spread his arms, waiting for Senecio's response. " Can you hug me, please? "

---

" Do you think... truth would be beneficial... or harmful to his recent growth? " Being asked, very slowly. " I could never really... blame White Eagle too much. He was born so very late into the war, and by his time, Demons as he knew them, were creatures oozing miasma, full of bitterness at being hunted, full of malice, monsters that hurt humans... Demons he knew them were ill and sick leftovers from old war forces, or, if they weren't ill or acted neutral, they were in his eyes sneaky creatures, like Tide, that weren't oozing miasma, but were trying to use trickery to get him to lower his guard... And it's even worse because, in the end, White Eagle ended up killed by Demon's trickery and malice. Would it truly be alright... to tell him one rare reliable thing he had when he was a pond God, was a product of Demon's trickery? " he asked, so very carefully, as if slowly approaching an unknown, dangerous land, starved for advice, in directionless world. " It... would be exhausting... piling up White lies anew. But if it's for his good, I can always pretend I am just some reclusive Demon maker, who never knew him, and not reveal my past Godhood to him. I just really don't want to shake his progress... now that he's doing so well, finding himself. To be truthful, whether he was White Eagle, White Gardener, or Sil Simbel, the ratio between them does not matter too much to me. Despite he was my enemy, I admired White Eagle for how fervently he gave his all to protect humanity, I admired White Gardener for how gently he treated and soothed his believers and how upright he was, even with such huge disabilities he was born with, and I admire Sil Simbel, for how marvellously he has grown, instead of being broken by so many years of starvation and solitude. I... it's such a silly, petty feeling, but... I... would feel quite... hurt... if he was disappointed with the truth as it was. Most important is, though, not my feelings, but that I don't do anything that causes damage to Tide and Hans. If I died thousands of times, it would not be enough to repay them for all they did for me, " he shook his head tensely. " So... I just need a little, little bit of reassurance... The litlest bit is that if he is given more freedom and his disabilities are eased, he won't change his mind again, and try to hurt Tide or other weak demonic creatures, not because they are a threat, but because they are demons. I would like to ease Sil Simbel's suffering and weaknesses so that he can defend himself better from danger, and so that chances for your despair flourishing are small. But I would lose my mind anew if my good intentions led to innocent Beings getting hurt, if my choice to take a leap fate ended up misplaced again... That's why I am really afraid, of affecting his recent growth badly, with my twisted truth... "

[Mirach]

Senecio closed the distance and sank into the embrace. "It's not some reward for treating me well, you silly," he whispered shakily. "It's for me to... I don't know... because I just need it, okay? You know when you take in a stray animal and try to make it feel at home, but it's still skittish and doesn't trust you at first because it just doesn't understand the concept of someone taking care of it without wanting something? And then, one day, it finally understand that its safe and can relax? Yeah, that's how I feel and I know how pathetic it sounds."

---

"What's twisted about it?" Svarik asked. "I think that he would be glad to meet you again. I think it would reassure him that even as a White Eagle he had a demon friend, even if he didn't know about it. But if you are unsure, I could just tell him that I heard about the god that he knew before, and that I learnt that the god was actually a demon, and see how he reacts to that. If it's negative, then I won't tell him more and we can leave it at that. You two don't have to ever meet again."

[VisAnastasis]

" You silly rascal... Was I not also, a primordial stray animal Tide found wounded in the sea, and picked up, and protected? I spent a huge amount of time dreading that he might want to fatten and eat me up, in times before language existed, in times before the concept of safety, or hugs existed... so how could I ever fault you, for being rightly anxious, when two scary primordial monsters picked you up suddenly, when I went through the same thing myself? " Spirit whispered into his ear. He tried to keep his voice steady, but it was shaking, just like his hands, that wrapped themselves tightly against the embrace. As if he wasn't able to resist the temptation of something pleasant, he shyly started rubbing circles around Senecio's back and leaned against him more, slowly and shyly relaxing in his hug, all the pent-up worry that had grown heavy since he first mentioned human adoption, slowly melting within it. " Now, language, hugs, and safety exist, though... so... so make sure to never degrade your place in my heart, deal? Never forget that you aren't some peculiar wounded wild animal I took an interest in, or a human pet, okay? You are my joy, and only mad men would throw their joy away, right? If you want our bond to end, you're the one who's going to have to throw "me" away, because I am not going anywhere. So, don't forget you have all the space in the world to be confident and hold your ground... "

---

" It... if he were to hate me... indeed, it would be easier to take in if I had some space to mentally prepare beforehand than to have to see his expression change to an unpleasant one in person. But, if I were to help him more, I'd need to come to see him in person, to the pond, anyway, regardless of how he feels... so rather than prioritising my feelings, I will tell you the same I said to Senecio... prioritise doing things in a way that would lead us to the best outcome, an outcome where he would most likely say yes. Because I can not exactly help him against his will, " Slowly, Being took a shaky breath, straightening up. As he did so, his shaky eyes were filled with more determination, as if he had made up his mind about something. " I was a fool for lesser things... so I guess I can give foolishness a try once more. As I said, how much I do depends on just how far you want to go. There are a lot of middle paths we can take, or some smaller things we can combine that could add up. But I thought through things, and I have prepared three options to discuss with you, that I came up with combining my research and knowledge of White Gardener's nature that I gathered over the centuries we worked together, in... in case the opportunity to meet with him in peace and talk to him about his limitations such as this arrives, " he coughed quietly, fiddling with one paper rose, not looking at Svarik, as he whispered shyly. " It all depends on how far you want to go to better his life... The first thing is just a little optional thing, that I think would be neat to have for him, but isn't that big. The second thing is something that would improve his current great limitations, make his present life easier and give him more space to breathe, which is a harder request. The third, hardest, most taxing option for me... regards creating the possible option to give him a chance to save himself, in the case for some reason city is lost, danger is grave, you all have to run, and using a fail-safe is the only option left, for Sil Simbel not to die. So, those are three things I think should be good starting points for conversation, so you can figure out how far you want to go, but we can always meet in the middle if it's possible. I don't want to pressure you to do more than you want to, and I don't know how much you love him, so I don't know how far you are willing to empower him, you understand. On the surface, old kings respected White Gardener, but to tell you, in confidence, in my opinion, they were mostly trashy superficial people, who never wanted to make him too strong, and were content with leaving him just strong enough to make sure their crops grow plentifully. They always held food against him when they disagreed. It was not in their interest, for the local deity to have more influence than them, so I'd understand if you'd likewise not want to give Simbel too much wind under his wings, however sad it would make me. I understand the ugliness of politics, even when I dislike them, and I don't want to insist on mercy for him only to fall out of your favour and earn your wariness. I am... tired of always fighting for people's rights on easier life, only to be scorned by the people in power, in return. Disappointment of failure is too heavy... "  

[Mirach]

"To be honest, I was much more unsure about the concept of family than about scary primordial monsters," Senecio smiled a bit shakily. "And I'm sorry if I lashed out and hurt you in my uncertainty."

---

"I very much hope that it will not happen that the city is lost, but it did happen before, and I would like to make sure that all can get to safety, whether it's now or in a thousand years. But I don't want to pressure you either, into giving something you are uncertain about. I really hope that we have time before anything like that happens, if it ever does, so that you have the time to see what you are comfortable with. But I don't see that well into the situation between spirits and demons. We just hope we can contribute to peace in it, and we have means to do so. So it would indeed be a relief if he's not bound to one place. I mean that as his friend, but also pragmatically, because we need to replace the Bull for the sake of the peace in the kingdom, and Sil Simbel is a good replacement, so his strength is tiedd to the kingdom's strength, too."

[VisAnastasis]

" Hey... Just because, something did not go along with my expectations, as I said, does not mean you should feel sorry. That is, I may have been a little hurt, but you certainly never, ever lashed out at me. Merely disagreeing or not being sure of your situation is not lashing out, you hear? You were not rough or cruel to me even for a moment, so any hurt you may perceive from me is a passing thing, do you understand? Just like... if I do or say something against your expectations, I might hurt you, too, but... "he whispered, as he gently and shyly snuggled closer to him. He could not purr like Tide, but Senecio could feel a little shy wave of security and calmness, washing timidly against him as Hans's shoulders slowly relaxed. " I hope you will let me make up for it, so that hurt also turns into a passing thing. The same goes for that other whole... picking-name thing. I was thinking about it in the meantime, and I do have some expectations and ideas, but I hope you won't choose by observing my feelings, or trying to be cordial or something, you hear? I really, genuinely want our final pick to be something we'd both have a blast with, and the only thing that would disappoint me is if you just went along with my whims even though you didn't feel it was the right pick. So, can you use that as guidelines for the future? "he murmured, as he seemed timid and a little dozed off in a cosy embrace as if savouring the fact he managed to steal the little moment of the actor being off guard to take it. " Unless you slam me to the ground and kick me in the face for no reason at all when I didn't do anything mean at that particular moment, no need to say sorry, deal? Unless you insult me with some low blow in the heat of the moment, there's no reason to apologise. Arguments over whether to pick option A or option B, are just small and passing things, and they won't matter in the long run, as much as how we choose to make up after them will matter... "

---

"I... see. I guess, unlike old kings, you do have reasons to want Simbel to be strong. He needs to be, if he were to overshadow the Bull properly, "Janus nodded, ever so slowly. He took a deep breath, as if reigning in his uncertainties before he slowly spoke up. " Well... let's first discuss the bare minimum, in either case. I'll first tell you the simplest, smallest deal, what I think should definitely be done, and isn't too controversial, as I've already made a lot of similar purposed devices in Tide's kingdom. It is more tied to the feeling of safety. I heard from little Erdel, about how he got ill from stress after he had to avoid Demon hunters in the mountains, and how terribly anxious he was as he ran back to capital, worrying if you all were okay - and likewise, how terribly anxious Sil Simbel... by Erdel's claims was... while worrying if Demon hunters would hurt the kid, while he was stuck in the capital, unable to search for him to warn or help him. It is unacceptable, to have so much uncertainty. We don't live in barbaric elder days. So, this is something I suggest, for both of the kid's sake, "Janus explained gently. "One thing is making a pair of mirrors, one for Erdel, one for Simbel, same as ones I made for Tide and Hans a while ago, where they can see each other through mirrors, so they can immediately let the other know if something is wrong. That would also be a nice little thing, to let Simbel see more of the world, if mirrors are made in the form of necklace pendants, so that they can check on each other, and see what the other one is seeing when they have something nice to share. For Erdel, too - I understand he is the fastest errand doer you can send, but it would be lonely if most of his life he was alone, going on errands, with no contact from home... so I urge you to do this deal, as a baseline, most basic safety net for them, so they can't be kidnapped or hurt without the other one learning of it. I can also make an alarm sort of artefact of both, that when pressed, creates a little shield, and informs Beings that agree to it, to be alerted of danger and appear to protect them, though you'd have to convince who would accept to give their hair for that decide yourself. But it's something I also built for Senecio, and one of the most common types of devices I have built, ever since I joined Tide's kingdom. Chains of Tide's goodness have so many weak links it's insanely hard to count... I have no idea how he managed to keep everyone safe and accounted for before I joined, though it was mostly credited to Hans's meticulous planning, careful distribution of population, and constant surveillance on his part. But now that I am here, you don't have to do things in more complicated ways... I have to warn you, though, that I can't make an unlimited number of artefacts of such kind as if it's nothing. It would require too much of my strength if I were to build protective shields for all of your vampire allies at once, "he shook his head regretfully, with anxiety and clear sadness. "I am already stretching myself thin, with all things I am building these days outside of deals, for my own satisfaction... It... takes too much out of me, to build that much at once, on so little food. My hunger grows more overwhelming. So, for a start, I think building mirrors for Simbel and Erdel, and one shield artefact for each, would be the barest of the bare minimum of what you need, to be able to better their feeling of safety. The other, weaker vampire demonic folk are under Simble's care in the capital, anyway, so they should be much safer by Simbels's closeness alone, for now. "

[Mirach]

"Okay... okay..." Senecio breathed out, relaxing slowly. "Just... I know we've been family for a while now by Being standards, and you've treated me accordingly, but could you please imagine that it just happened? Because I just really got it now... And I'm a bit overwhelmed, so could we maybe discuss names some other time? Like, after the play that's making me anxious goes well, if it does?"

---

"If you offer such a deal, I would accept it wholeheartedly," Svarik said. "It would be good to have a steady contact and protection for Erdel. But if it makes you hungry, we should find a solution to that as a part of the deal. Erdel asked me to tell you that he would really like to offer you a meal, but I told him I'll try to convince you about it only if it's safe for him. Would it be safe?"