[IC] [Mask or Menace] Contact Post

[dendarii]

"This is Miles. Leave a message and I'll respond to you at my earliest convenience."

The line has gone silent; any messages sent to this name only return an error.

Comments

[dendarii]

What are we wagering?

[keep_nothing]

Oh, are we making it a formal bet then?

[ She sits up straighter, not even hesitating before she thinks of her conditions. ] If Jim doesn't bat an eye at your list and agrees to help you practice, you then have to kiss ... someone of my choosing.

[dendarii]

[ That was ... fast. All right, he straightens up then. ]

And if I win, you never get to dissect my love life again.

[keep_nothing]

You'd be shooting yourself in the foot there, kiddo. But deal.

[ She holds out her free hand to shake on it. ]

[dendarii]

[ He takes it, gladly. ]

I'll be the judge of that.

[keep_nothing]

With the fact that you're accepting a bet on it, you might want to reevaluate your ability to judge on this particular subject, kiddo.

[ She clinks their wine glasses together with a smile. ]

[dendarii]

Well, if your judgment isn't much better, I'm about to find out.

[keep_nothing]

Haven't you had twenty years to learn this by now?

[dendarii]

Childhood doesn't count.

[keep_nothing]

Mother is still always right, you know.

[dendarii]

Perhaps. But how do you know?

[keep_nothing]

Oh, love. Don't question the laws of the universe.

[dendarii]

I should hope I'm a bit of a different person now from when I was an infant.

[keep_nothing]

I can't personally attest to that, of course.

[dendarii]

Not at all?

[keep_nothing]

I've only had a couple days with you, after all. Most of those hours spent as a side-liner.

[dendarii]

Close enough.

[keep_nothing]

[ She switches hand for her glass so that she can drape an arm around Miles' shoulder, casual, close and warm. ]

Not nearly close enough for my tastes.

[dendarii]

[ He leans in gently at that. ]

... Are you glad to get a chance to see me like this? Grown up?

[keep_nothing]

Absolutely. Happy beyond my wildest dreams.

[dendarii]

[ Some secret part of himself sparks brightly at that, a sore spot soothed. ]

Really? Even with - well, everything?

[ He gestures down to himself. ]

[keep_nothing]

Miles, we were afraid we'd have to carry you in a bucket for the rest of your life. The fact that you can walk without damaging your hips or femurs or anything was far beyond our expectations.

And not just physically. There was some doubt about the re-calcification treatments impeding your brain development. Your father is ecstatic that you're playing and holding ground in your war games with him.

[dendarii]

[ He's heard something similar from Aral before, but it still warms him straight to the heart every time. He'd been so busy seeing his limitations he doesn't see his progress sometimes...

A faint shiver goes through him at the mention of brain development, though. ]

Thank god for that. I'd have been nothing at all without my mind.

[keep_nothing]

No, [ she says firmly. ] You would have been our son.

[dendarii]

Even in a bucket? Even with stunted brain development?