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[cross_and_bow]

Jane tells everyone what happened regarding the Alethian afterlife.

And little tidbits about surrounding events, too.

Bella has been hanging out in the Jarvis she knows better, mentally composing a treaty for the Vxaabli demons, and as she hears the story she slowly, slowly tenses up like a spring.

Comments

[cross_and_bow]

"...Okay."

[eversomuchfun]

He goes and sits down beside her and hugs her.

[cross_and_bow]

Hugs.

[eversomuchfun]

Yes. Hugs.

[cross_and_bow]

Later, when hugs are concluded, the treaty has been written and conjured and sealed with the largely invented symbols of Bella's status as a foreign negotiator and sent to the Vxaabli, and Bella is alone -

she goes down to the basement in which there is a Tony.

[toblameforit]

Tony is doing something that involves pouring molten metal into a mold! He will probably be available for conversation in a minute when he's finished.

[cross_and_bow]

Bella hangs out, watching, quiet.

[toblameforit]

And indeed, as soon as the thing he's making no longer requires his immediate attention, he turns to her and waves.

"Hi!"

[cross_and_bow]

"Hi," says Bella. "Whatcha making?"

[toblameforit]

"Arc reactor. Well, part of one."

[cross_and_bow]

"You going to power something in particular with it or is this mostly an exercise left to the reader out of the Being A Tony Textbook?"

[toblameforit]

He laughs. "Well, I mean, who wouldn't want a cute little cold fusion reactor to take home and feed and play with?"

[cross_and_bow]

"You feed it?" she giggles.

[toblameforit]

"Not literally. Well, mostly not literally."

[cross_and_bow]

"Mostly?" giggles Bella.

[toblameforit]

"It's not inconceivable that someday I might have an arc reactor where I have to give it new reaction material every so often."

[cross_and_bow]

"Fair enough." She hops into the air, crosslegged like she's sitting there. "I don't talk to you that much so I don't actually know what you heard about the thing with Steph. What did you hear about the thing with Steph?"

[toblameforit]

"Sherry got a daemon, she was suicidal, he un-got her."

[cross_and_bow]

"...That's all you know?"

[toblameforit]

"That's the summary. Why, was there more?"

[cross_and_bow]

"Just - details. I was trying to figure out how many of the details you got, though."

[toblameforit]

"...I don't know, which details do you want me to have got?" He scratches his head. "I mean, Sherry told me stuff. I just don't remember it all exactly."

[cross_and_bow]

"Nothing specific. Just, Steph seems relevant to him being - not too okay. And I have been thinking about that lately and it occurs to me that you might have relevant insights."

[toblameforit]

"Yeah, I bet I do," he agrees. "But I don't know what they are yet. What're you thinking?"

[cross_and_bow]

"Ineffectual guilty thoughts," says Bella. "I don't know what to do. I hate having things that are bad that I don't know how to fix."