The Party Had Just Begun

[iamnotpolaris]

They spend the next couple of days just in Terraria, not exploring new worlds. Sivath builds the new house, with Emily's periodic assistance. Her sister and her sister's new Bonded...do not lack for ways to pass the time. At some point, Tialle's Demon gets around to eating a mana candy, and reports the same confused, undefined but large amount of mana. At some point after that, Emily gets around to warping over to Saravasse to report the information, and in the course of so doing meets some other dragons.

Eventually, the house is finished. It's glorious. Glass and marble and that peculiar, lovely Terrarian granite.

Comments

[jumptotheleft]

"Well, it helps that the demon-looking one--who isn't a demon, by the way, I got close enough to check--is hot and shirtless."

[themainattraction]

"...Ooh. You know, spending too long studying consecutively can burn you out, and I've still got a week..."

[jumptotheleft]

"You go have fun, assuming there is fun to be had. I needed to borrow your calculus notes anyway, I think I made a mistake writing mine down."

[themainattraction]

"You're the best." Daphne kisses her briefly before going to see if she can reap the benefits of peoples' mistaken assumptions.

[maggie_of_the_owls]

One of the other students will gladly direct her to the strangers!

[themainattraction]

Brilliant. Ooh, that is hot and shirtless. Nice. And also holding hands with the pretty brunette in the blue dress. Not something Jaromira mentioned. Oh well, no harm in asking; it's not like she doesn't know how to take no for an answer.

"Hi," she says to the shirtless one. "You're gorgeous, want to do the obvious fun thing?"

[endragoned]

He laughs.

"I very well might," he says.

(The internal calculation is primarily about risk - how likely is it that she plans to harm him; how likely is it that she could succeed in such a plan; how much does he care, on his own behalf or on behalf of people who will be upset if he is harmed - and he cares more than he usually might, but judges her unlikely to be dangerous in either intent or capability.)

[whatamithinking]

Various cultural scripts involving monogamy briefly cross Edie's mind, but she dismisses them immediately as irrelevant. Instead she thinks about the fact that if he is going to sleep with people who don't already know about Dragonbonds and whatnot he should probably tell them, since most people who are having sex have a reasonable expectation of privacy from anyone not present.

[themainattraction]

If handholding girl is standing right there and not objecting then presumably she does not object. Good.

"My roommate's going to be out for a while."

[endragoned]

"Is that an advantage?" he wonders.

(He agrees that it would be good to tell this person about Dragonbonds, or at least about the relevant mind-sharing part, but he's at a bit of a loss about how to do so. Living alone on an island for ten thousand years is not an environment conducive to picking up delicate social skills.)

[themainattraction]

"...Well, it means she won't be bothered if we have sex in my room."

[whatamithinking]

Someone from this general cultural context who is being this blunt in her propositions is probably not going to care overmuch about delicacy. 'For the record,' she sends to the other woman, 'I'm a telepath and we're also psychically linked. I won't necessarily be paying attention to anything that happens, but even if I don't I'll still have access to the details later.'

[themainattraction]

'...So do I just respond like, uh, this?'

[whatamithinking]

'Yes.'

[themainattraction]

'Well. I don't care what you see, as long as you still respect me in the morning.'

[whatamithinking]

'Yeah, that won't be a problem. Just thought you should know.'

[endragoned]

The demon giggles.

[not_only]

(Sivath isn't about to interrupt, but he does kind of wish he were not witnessing this conversation.)

[iamnotpolaris]

Emily glances at him, then tugs on his sleeve and makes a let's get out of here gesture once she has his attention.

[not_only]

He smiles slightly and nods.

[iamnotpolaris]

Exeunt stage left.

[themainattraction]

"So, 'I very well might' isn't quite exactly 'yes,' and I like to be as conscientious as possible about consent."

[endragoned]

"Well, if it turns out you are trying to kill me, then it will turn out I do not want to spend time with you as much as I thought I do. But since I do not expect that to be a problem, where is your room?"

[themainattraction]

"I am not even a little bit trying to kill you. You can get your girlfriend to check if you want, assuming 'telepath' includes, 'mindreader.' My room's in Lucy Hall, which is that way," she points.

[endragoned]

"Then let us go that way," he says, letting go of Edie's hand and smiling.