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<h1 id="ioan-balan-2350">Ioan Bălan — 2350</h1>
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<p>Once they were fed and Debarre was safely on his way home — or at least merged down-tree — Ioan begged off from talking any further with Douglas and trudged down the hall to the spare room he borrowed whenever May needed space. Ey claimed to need a nap and, while ey was certainly tired enough, sleep seemed unlikely</p>
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<p>The walk and cry in the field before ey’d joined Douglas at his house had been necessary, but also had only served to highlight just how woefully out of eir depth ey truly was.</p>
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<p>“Hi Sarah,” ey said, starting a simplex sensorium message. “Sorry to bother you, and sorry we haven’t spoken in a few weeks. I know I was vague when I canceled our last appointment, but things have gone completely sideways. I’m not totally sure how open you’d be to this, but can we meet and talk, even if I’m restricted to talking on very general terms about what’s going on? I need to talk to someone who can help me sort through my thoughts around it, I just can’t share details yet. It has to do with True Name, so I’m sure you can appreciate just how complicated it is. Let me know if that’s alright. I’m…I’m at Douglas’s for a few days. Thanks.”</p>
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<p>“Hi Sarah,” ey said, starting a simplex sensorium message. “Sorry to bother you, and sorry we haven’t spoken in a few weeks. I know I was vague when I canceled our last appointment, but things have gone completely sideways. I’m not totally sure how open you’d be to this, but can we meet and talk? Even if I’m restricted to talking in very general terms about what’s going on? I need to talk to someone who can help me sort through my thoughts around it, I just can’t share details yet. It has to do with True Name, so I’m sure you can appreciate just how complicated it is. Let me know if that’s alright. I’m…I’m at Douglas’s for a few days. Thanks.”</p>
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<p>Then, ey lay down on the bed, still dressed and over the covers, and stared at the ceiling, trying to think about as little as possible.</p>
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<p>Ey was startled awake by a sensorium message. Grunting and wiping eir hands over eir face to try and bring reality back into focus through the nearly drunken haze of waking up from an ill-advised nap, ey set the message to running.</p>
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<p>“Good to hear from you, Ioan. I’ll admit that I was pretty concerned when you canceled. I don’t usually worry about you, but that’s also the first time you’ve had to do so in nearly four years. I can be free whenever you need, and am happy to meet you either there or here. I don’t have any problems holding off on details until a later date. Just let me know.”</p>
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@ -29,9 +29,9 @@
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<p>“Whoa, wait. I know you said no specifics, but can you tell me a little more about that? I can’t picture that working at <em>all</em>“</p>
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<p>Ey sighed. “Yeah, well, that’s part of why I’m here and not at home, I guess.”</p>
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<p>She nodded, gestured for em to continue.</p>
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<p>“Well, she…hmm. She ran into some interpersonal trouble that was dramatic enough to require staying around people well-known enough that she’d be safe.” Ey winced, adding, “I know that’s not much to go by. Either way, she’s staying in our place. She’s been fairly self-contained, but not totally so, so there’s been some interaction between the three of us. Before you ask, it was May’s idea in the first place, and while there have been a few rough spots, it’s gone far smoother than I would have thought.”</p>
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<p>“Still, I imagine that just having the anxiety of it possibly going rough doesn’t feel good.”</p>
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<p>“Not at all, no. I feel like I’m constantly on guard, always ready to jump in and smooth things out, even if I haven’t had to do so at all. I’m trying to let them both just do their own thing, though, and every time I catch myself feeling that way, which can’t be more than a quarter of the times in total, I try to change contexts.”</p>
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<p>“Well, she…hmm. She ran into some interpersonal trouble that was dramatic enough to require staying around people well enough known on the System that she’d be safe.” Ey winced, adding, “I know that’s not much to go by. Either way, she’s staying in our place. She’s been fairly self-contained, but not totally so, so there’s been some interaction between the three of us. Before you ask, it was May’s idea in the first place, and while there have been a few rough spots, it’s gone far smoother than I would have thought.”</p>
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<p>“Still, I imagine that just having the anxiety of it potentially going rough doesn’t feel good.”</p>
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<p>“Not at all, no. I feel like I’m constantly on guard, always ready to jump in and smooth things out, even if I haven’t really had to do so. I’m trying to let them both just do their own thing, though, and every time I catch myself feeling that way, I try to change contexts.”</p>
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<p>“That’s good,” she said. “Has it been helping, at least?”</p>
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<p>“If you’d asked me that a few days ago, I would have said yes, but now that I’m here and struggling to hold it together, I’m not so sure. I think I was just pushing it down without, I don’t know, redirecting it or dealing with it.”</p>
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<p>She nodded. “Alright. I want to come back to that, but I interrupted your overview. Can you tell me what else happened?”</p>
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@ -39,46 +39,46 @@
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<p>“Not May Then My Name…” Sarah murmured, frowning.</p>
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<p>“No. Another cocladist, though.”</p>
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<p>Ey saw comprehension dawn in her features, and that frown only deepened. She gestured for em to continue.</p>
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<p>“But, well, so there’s two things that I think fall out of this that I’d get the most out of talking about. The first is that I’m having a lot of complicated feelings surrounding True Name throughout this, and the second is that May did mention that she’d been considering merging down with her until the previous merge went so sideways.”</p>
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<p>“But…well. So there’s two things that I think fall out of this that I’d get the most out of talking about. The first is that I’m having a lot of complicated feelings surrounding True Name throughout this, and the second is that May did mention that she’d been considering merging down with her until the previous merge went so sideways.”</p>
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<p>She looked down to the grass thoughtfully as they walked. “Can you tell me about how you feel about the merge, first?”</p>
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<p>“I didn’t really get the chance to ask her about why it was that she was considering merging. We promised to talk about it more, but after that, things happened pretty quickly. There’s a weird sort of jealousy that goes along with it. May and I have built our own life completely independent of True Name. We bowed out of politics and writing these grand, System-spanning tales and focused on just being together. That’s why I got into writing plays, I think: it was a way for me to do the things that felt comfortable with me in a way that didn’t involve being involved in all these crazy goings-on.</p>
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<p>“So we built our life together. True Name respected that, too. She would ask about May and I and seemed earnestly happy that we’d gone and done something so…normal.”</p>
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<p>“So we built our life together. True Name respected that, too. She would ask about May and I, and seemed earnestly happy that we’d gone and done something so…normal.”</p>
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<p>“Do you think she’s envious of that?”</p>
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<p>Ey frowned and scuffed a heel through the grass. “I don’t know, honestly. Again, if you’d asked me a few weeks ago, I would have said probably not, that she’s got her own things that make her happy which don’t involve putting on plays or poking fun at each other. Now, though I’m not so sure. This whole thing about the merge adds another layer onto that, because suddenly, True Name would have all of those memories.”</p>
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<p>“Does it bother you that she would have the memories, or are you worried about her having those emotions? Do you worry she’d start feeling about you the way that May Then My Name does?”</p>
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<p>“Well, shit,” ey groaned. “I didn’t even think about that. Like, we’ve talked about what her having memories of loving me would mean, but always past-tense. I didn’t think about if she herself, she as True Name I mean, would pick those up as well. I have no clue. Maybe on some level I do, though. I like the way May feels about me. We’ve talked about jealousy a few times, and it often comes up that she feels devotion towards me, and I’m really not sure how I’d feel having that come from another, never mind one that I have as complicated a relationship with as I do with True Name.”</p>
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<p>“Does this tie in with the complicated feelings you mentioned, then?”</p>
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<p>Ey bought emself some time to think about an answer by bending down to pluck a dandelion, twirling it between eir fingers. “I guess I have to share one detail, which is that there was an attempt on her life back on Secession day.”</p>
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<p>Sarah blinked and stopped up short. “One moment,” she said, then closed her eyes, her lips moving faintly in a non-vocalized sensorium message. Ey politely turned away. Finally, she nodded. “I checked in with the instance that’s been meeting with True Name and she said that she received a message from her back on Secession day that sounded really panicked.”</p>
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<p>Sarah blinked and stopped up short. “One moment,” she said, then closed her eyes, her lips moving faintly in a non-vocalized sensorium message. Ey politely turned away. Finally, she caught eir attention once more. “I checked in with the instance that’s been meeting with True Name and she said that she received a message from her back on Secession day that sounded really panicked.”</p>
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<p>“What was it about?” ey asked. “If you can share, that is.”</p>
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<p>“Not the specifics, but she mentioned that True Name did cancel appointments for the foreseeable future with the promise to come back as soon as she could.”</p>
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<p>Ey nodded. “Well, then yes, that’d be why. She’s safe, at least. Staying with us means that no one can come after her without exposing themselves,” ey said as reassuringly as ey could. Ey felt bad leaving out the fact that True Name wasn’t currently at home, but that felt like it was on the list of things ey couldn’t share.</p>
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<p>Ey nodded. “Well, then yes, that’d be why. She’s safe, at least. Staying with us means that no one can come after her without exposing themselves,” ey said as reassuringly as ey could. Ey felt bad leaving out the fact that True Name wasn’t in contact at all with either of them, but that felt like it was on the list of things ey couldn’t share.</p>
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<p>“Has this changed how you feel about her, then?”</p>
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<p>“I don’t know if it’s changed things, necessarily, so much as made me more cognizant of how I felt about her before. I think I mentioned around the time that it came up that we had a conversation about how she said that it was nice to just have a friend, and how I translated that as a friendly acquaintance that wasn’t just another coworker.”</p>
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<p>“Right, and I called you out on the fact that you later said you thought of her more like a friendly coworker than anything.”</p>
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<p>Ey laughed. “Right. Well, with all that’s gone down, with how it felt to see her in danger and then to see her struggling with the ramifications of that and the effects of the merge, I think I’m a lot more comfortable just calling her a friend. I don’t think I’d feel like this if it were a friendly coworker.”</p>
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<p>“And I called you out on the fact that you later said you thought of her more like a friendly coworker than anything.”</p>
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<p>Ey laughed. “Right. Well, with all that’s gone down, with how it felt to see her in danger and then to see her struggling with the ramifications of being cut off and the effects of the merge, I think I’m a lot more comfortable just calling her a friend. I don’t think I’d feel like this if she were a ‘friendly coworker’.”</p>
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<p>“You have a far more complex relationship than what is implied by ‘coworker’. It could just be a language thing, that ‘friend’ implies a greater level of shared happiness than you have, but, confronted by how much you care about her in the context of what happened, you’re bumping up against the broader definition of friend of someone you <em>can</em> feel that much care for.”</p>
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<p>Ey nodded. They fell into silence as they walked while Ioan took the time to process.</p>
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<p>It certainly tallied, too. Even though May’s overflowing had overshadowed it — reasonably so, given their relationship — ey’d been hit hard by True Name overflowing, as well. Seeing her struggling, upset and overwhelmed, having to claim that same solitude that End Waking did, touched on that care. The need to fix things was a symptom of confusing sense of care, ey suspected, rather than just something isolated.</p>
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<p>It certainly tallied, too. Even though May’s overflowing had overshadowed it — reasonably so, given the importance of their relationship — ey’d been hit hard by True Name overflowing, as well. Seeing her struggling, upset and overwhelmed, having to claim that same solitude that End Waking did, touched on that care. The need to fix things was a symptom of that confusing sense of care, ey suspected, rather than just something isolated.</p>
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<p>“I don’t know if you were necessarily talking to me, but just in case you were, I’d agree with your assessment.”</p>
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<p>Ey jumped at the sudden realization that ey’d been mumbling, then laughed. “Sorry, I was mumbling, wasn’t I? I was trying to keep that dialogue internal, but I appreciate the confirmation.”</p>
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<p>Ey jumped at the sudden realization that ey’d said at least part of that out loud, then laughed. “Sorry, I was mumbling, wasn’t I? I was trying to keep that dialogue internal, but I appreciate the confirmation.”</p>
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<p>She smiled. “I suspected so. I’m used to it, now. So, before I continue, are you looking to work on disentangling this, some ideas for where to go next, or just talking?”</p>
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<p>“I wouldn’t turn down an idea or two, but I’ve already gotten a lot out of having the chance to talk through the emotional side. There are a few others in the loop that I’ve been able to talk with, but that’s all been about logistics, or about May and True Name rather than myself.” Ey sighed, adding, “I was a mess when I first got here. Doesn’t feel great to say, but I spent so much energy on them I kind of forgot to take care of myself.”</p>
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<p>“That it doesn’t feel great to say is a sign that you care deeply, so it’s not a terrible sign, but you do need to take care of yourself, yes.” She looked thoughtful for a moment, then said, “Alright. I know you said they’re both currently overflowing, but what do you think about talking with each of them about how you’re feeling about this when you can?”</p>
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<p>“That it doesn’t feel great to say is a sign that you care deeply, so it’s not a bad thing, but you do need to take care of yourself, yes.” She looked thoughtful for a moment, then said, “Alright. I know you said they’re both currently overflowing, but what do you think about talking with each of them about how you’re feeling about this when you can?”</p>
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<p>“Uh, well, I mean” ey stammered. “I guess I should, yeah.”</p>
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<p>“‘Should’?”</p>
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<p>“Right. I’d like to, but they both feel kind of fraught. Talking with May about being friends with True Name feels fraught with how they feel about each other, or at least felt about each other. Hell, I don’t know how I’d tell her I care about her, either. And I don’t particularly want to be the one to broach May merging down with True Name, either. That feels like a conversation they should start as cocladists.”</p>
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<p>“They’re complicated topics, and I’m not saying you <em>must</em> talk about them, but it’ll only help for the three of you to all be on the same page.”</p>
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<p>“Right. Should statement. I’d like to, but they both feel kind of fraught. Talking with May about being friends with True Name feels fraught with how they feel about each other, or at least felt about each other. Hell, I don’t know how I’d tell True Name I care about her, either. And I don’t particularly want to be the one to broach May merging down with True Name, either. That feels like a conversation they should start as cocladists.”</p>
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<p>“They’re complicated topics, and I’m not saying you <em>must</em> talk about them, but it’ll only help for the three of you to all be on the same page. It’d be a good exercise for you being more active, as well.”</p>
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<p>Ey nodded.</p>
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<p>“You look like you’re fading. Want to call it for now and then we can get in touch soon?”</p>
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<p>“Uh, yeah, probably,” ey said. It was only just settling into evening, but the nap still had em out of sorts. “Thank you, though. This was immensely helpful. I don’t think any of us are in a position at the moment to hold to a schedule, given further complicated stuff going on behind the scenes, but I’ll definitely be in touch when I can and will nudge both of them to do the same.”</p>
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<p>“Uh, yeah, probably,” ey said. It was only just settling into evening, but the nap still had em out of sorts. “Thank you, though. This was immensely helpful. I don’t think any of us are in a position to hold to a schedule at the moment, given further complicated stuff going on behind the scenes, but I’ll definitely be in touch when I can, and will nudge both of them to do the same.”</p>
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<p>“Ioan.”</p>
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<p>Ey stopped up short, winced. “Right, sorry. Not my job.”</p>
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<p>“Thank you,” she said, grinning. “I’ll touch base with each of them, don’t worry. One more tip before I go: take care of yourself. That whole golden rule thing applies to you, too, you know. Treat others well, but remember you still need to be treated well.”</p>
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<p>Ey nodded, still feeling abashed from being called out. “I’ll certainly try.”</p>
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<p>“I’ll certainly try.”</p>
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<p>Page generated on 2022-04-19</p>
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<p>Page generated on 2022-04-20</p>
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<p>May arrived without any warning. She would usually ping either em or Douglas, giving them a few minutes to get out into the field and prepare for a pouncing.</p>
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<p>This time, however, Ioan woke to a small, furry form crawling into bed with em, whispering for em to scoot over a bit. Some sleepy part of em remembered that Douglas had locked down the ACLs to all unannounced visitors shortly after ey’d arrived with the news.</p>
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<p>This time, however, Ioan awoke before dawn to a small, furry form crawling into bed with em, whispering for em to scoot over. Some sleepy part of em remembered that Douglas had locked down the ACLs to all unannounced visitors shortly after ey’d arrived with the news.</p>
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<p>All except May, apparently.</p>
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<p>Ey held up the covers for her to squirm beneath them and fit herself comfortably against eir front, draping them back over them both as ey got eir arms around her comfortably. Ey was too tired to do anything other than mumble a quiet greeting, and she didn’t seem all that keen on talking either, so they simply dozed with each other for another few hours.</p>
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<p>With the sun warming the far wall of the room, they woke slowly, May squirming around enough to face em so that she could press her nose to eirs.</p>
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<p>“Good morning, my dear.”</p>
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<p>“Morning, May. Surprised to see you here.</p>
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<p>“Morning, May. Surprised to see you here.”</p>
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<p>She shrugged, nosed her way down beneath eir chin. “I woke up early feeling well enough to come by, but did not want to wake you.”</p>
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<p>“Or wait?”</p>
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<p>“I missed you, Ioan, why would I wait?”</p>
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<p>Ey nudged at her snout with eir chin. “Well, I missed you too, so it works out. Surprised to see you here so soon.”</p>
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<p>Ey nudged at her snout with eir chin. “Well, I missed you too, so it works out. Just surprised to see you here so soon.”</p>
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<p>“I am not feeling spectacular, but I am feeling well enough to not be alone. Now does not feel like a good time to be alone.” She leaned back enough to smile at em, and though it was a little shaky and her face was still a mess, ey was pleased to see that it was earnest. “Are you okay, my dear? I do not imagine it was the best of times for this to happen.”</p>
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<p>Remembering eir conversation with Sarah only two days back, ey checked the urge to refocus on the topic on her, instead saying, “It was a little rough, yeah. I got in touch with Sarah and set up an emergency thing a few hours after I got here.”</p>
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<p>“I am sorry, Ioan.”</p>
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<p>“You, please.”</p>
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<p>Ey nodded. “Alright. It wound up being more about jealousy than anything, and what it was that I was actually feeling protective of when it came to the idea. Some of it is the fact that we’ve built a pretty good life together, and it took a lot of work. I’m not sure how I feel about her having the memories of that.”</p>
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<p>“End Waking said much the same, that he had put all his effort into his penance and that he would like her to come by that through her own work.”</p>
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<p>“Pretty similar, yeah. I’d be really happy for her if she built a life that included happiness and comfort outside of work, but a large part of me wants her to come by that naturally. The other bit that Sarah brought up was whether or not I was worried that her incorporating your memories of us together would lead to her feeling about me the way you do.”</p>
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<p>“Pretty similar, yeah. I’d be really happy for her if she built a life that included happiness and comfort outside of work, but a large part of me wants her to come by that honestly. The other bit that Sarah brought up was whether or not I was worried that her incorporating your memories of us together would lead to her feeling about me the way you do.”</p>
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<p>There was a long silence after that. Ey did eir best to quell eir impatience. With how much the topic had been weighing on em over the last few days, ey desperately wanted to hear her side of it, as well.</p>
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<p>Finally, she said, “I have been thinking about that quite a bit since the topic came up, but only from my point of view. I did not think about how it might feel for you, for which I apologize.”</p>
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<p>Ey shook eir head. “You’ve had a lot going on. What thoughts did you have on it, though?”</p>
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<p>“I have also been trying to pick apart my jealousy. I have said in the past that I am not opposed to you finding companionship with others, whether romantic or sexual or whatever. I am starting to think, though, that that would only apply to a type of companionship that does not overlap with what you and I have. I want nothing more than for you to feel fulfilled, my dear, and if that means finding fulfillment for the areas that I do not cover, I would only ever be pleased.” She sighed, thought for a moment longer, and then continued, “For someone to feel about you precisely what I do, even if it is tempered by other memories, is too close to the devotion that I am most protective of.”</p>
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<p>“I have also been trying to pick apart my jealousy. I have said in the past that I am not opposed to you finding companionship with others, whether romantic or sexual or whatever. I am starting to think, though, that that would only apply to a type of companionship that does not overlap with what you and I have. I want nothing more than for you to feel fulfilled, my dear, and if that means finding fulfillment for the areas that I do not cover, I would only ever be pleased.” She sighed, thought for a moment longer, and then continued more quietly, “For someone to feel about you precisely what I do, even if it is tempered by other memories, is too close to the devotion that I am most protective of.”</p>
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<p>“Have you changed your mind on merging?”</p>
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<p>“I do not know, Ioan. I go back and forth on the issue and at the moment, rather more back than forth.” She giggled, licked at eir chin, adding, “Or forth than back. The metaphor fails.”</p>
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<p>“You took that one a bit far, yeah,” ey said, laughing. “But I think I’m too tired to talk about this much more. Did you have coffee before coming over?”</p>
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<p>She nodded and slumped down into a chair, cradling her coffee in both paws. “Mostly, yes. I am still below baseline, but it was more important that I see you two than to return all the way.”</p>
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<p>“Well, glad to see you made it through.”</p>
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<p>“You will not quit me so easily, Douglas. How are you, though? Has Ioan caught you up on everything?”</p>
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<p>“I think so, yeah. Em, Debarre, and End Waking did. Assassins, mergers, Jonas being terrible. Did I miss anything?”</p>
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<p>“I think so, yeah. Em, Debarre, and End Waking did. Assassins, mergers, Jonas being terrible, Zacharias. Did I miss anything?”</p>
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<p>She shook her head. “That is the whole of it, I think. We continue to be dramatic about everything we do.”</p>
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<p>He laughed. “I mean, not going to deny that, but I’m also going to put a large part of this on Jonas, rather than you all.”</p>
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<p>“Do you have any thoughts on it?”</p>
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<p>Douglas’s face fell. “I never got to meet her, but from what everyone’s said, it sounds like the split was pretty evident.”</p>
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<p>“It was,” May said. “While I do not speak of her that way, Debarre is not wrong to do so.”</p>
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<p>“Why not?”</p>
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<p>The skunk shrugged and lapped at her coffee. “Back when I was her, I did not think of her that way. True Name did not think of her that way. I know Hammered Silver does, and I am sure that others do as well. It is accurate, enough.”</p>
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<p>“I wonder what would happen if everyone all of you were able to merge back down into one instance again,” he mused. “Would that get close to being her?”</p>
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<p>The skunk shrugged and lapped at her coffee. “Back when I was her, I did not think of myself that way. True Name did not think of her that way. I know Hammered Silver does, and I am sure that others do as well. It is accurate, enough. Both can be true at once.”</p>
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<p>“I wonder what would happen if all of you were able to merge back down into one instance again,” he mused. “Would that get close to being her?”</p>
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<p>May fell silent, looking out the window at the fields over the rim of her mug.</p>
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<p>“I do not know,” she said eventually. Her voice sounded far away, older than Ioan had ever heard it sound before. “I wish I did, but I do not know.”</p>
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</article>
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<footer>
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<p>Page generated on 2022-04-17</p>
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<p>Page generated on 2022-04-20</p>
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</footer>
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</main>
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