Plots: Serious, silly, random, oh my!

[Keeper]

Draco Street Bakery

"It was supposed to be temporary but magic is apparently tricky when things are interfering with you." Rowan grumbles.
"He begged me, for the record. Before anyone accuses me of being a dragon supremacist or something." Even if he does think that Simon is 100% cuter like this and he just wants to squeeze him like a teddy bear most of the time. That might be the Big Jolly Dragon part of his brain talking, though.

[bc56]

Aiko's Bad Day

"Oh, okay. Bye!" Mary waves farewell to Juibi.

She leads the two remaining Aikos out of the school and to the nearby riftline station. They stop at the platform. "It's going to be a long ride," she says, not really sure what to say to her rival who is now relying on her for help.

[Ironsmith]

[AIko's Bad Day]

"...Indeed." Sigil Aiko confirms. She then proceeds to stand there, stoically, while they wait for the train, almost to the point where she would probably make for a decent impression of a statue.

...For about ten seconds. After which she begins pacing back and forth, looking around for something to do, while her older counterpart retains her much more unflappable demeanor. Mary might remember from their time in detention together that forced inactivity seemed to have a... detrimental effect on Aiko's sanity, and it seems this particular portion of her, whichever that was, inherited that particular quirk.

"...If her highness would permit." The older Aiko says after a while. "There are a number of vendors in this area. Would you like something to occupy yourself while we wait for the train? A sudoku, perhaps, or a crossword?"

"No, thank you." Sigil Aiko replies, doing her best to keep her voice level. "We don't have the time to spend on games. There are doubtless more productive things I could be doing, I simply need to determine what."

"Hm. A simple puzzle does wonders for maintaining one's mental health." Older Aiko points out. "Sudoku in particular has been shown in multiple studies to reduce stress and delay the onset of cognitive decline. I am simply asking you to take care of your brain in this intervening time."

"...It... is important to take care of one's mind." Sigil Aiko admits after a moment. "An executive whose decision-making is impaired by poor health is not of much use to anybody, is she?" She clears her throat. "Very well, then. But I would request that you bring back the most difficult set of puzzles you can find. Anything less will simply not be engaging enough."

"Of course." The older Aiko stands. "I will return momentarily." And with that, she turns and makes her way over to that aforementioned vendors, leaving Mary alone with the most familiar part of her rival.

[quillpleasant]

Draco Street Bakery

Atya looks between the two dragons, her disbelief slowly turning to shock. She's good at reading people, and it really seems like this shopkeeper is telling the truth.

"Simon? Is that really you?" She shakes her head incredulously, then lets out a peal of laughter. "How? What? God, it doesn't matter. Simon, I've missed you so much!" Atya takes a step forward, her arms going up towards Simon, but the little dragon raises a warning claw at her.

"No! Don't think I've forgotten all the shit you did! You don't get to... waltz in here and drag me back into the family business!" He bares his fangs.

"I'm not? I just came here to get a pie." She gestures at the baked goods on the counter. "I got out before you, why the hell would I be bringing you back in?"

This answer seems to slightly mollify Simon, as he relaxes slightly. But his hackles are still definitely up.

"Aren't you going to introduce me to your...?"

"My boyfriend, yeah. Atya, this is Rowan. Rowan, Atya," he sniffs. Atya gives Rowan an apologetic little wave.

[Keeper]

Draco Street Bakery

"Um. Well I don't think you told me what your family did other than it being Real Bad. But either way..." He tries to stand straight, posing properly with his staff and straightening his hat.
"I'm Rowan Elkthorn. Yeah, we're dating."
Ratticus momentarily pops up from under Rowan's hat. "And I'm his obligatory fuzzy minion." he grumps before returning to the his place under the hat. Rowan does not comment on this.

[quillpleasant]

Draco Street Bakery

Atya smiles, seemingly a little surprised. She nods approvingly at Rowan. "Wow, look at you, Simon! Dating a business owner. Wow, you grew up fast." A beat. "Well, in a metaphorical sense. You're a little smaller now actually."

This gets an exhale from Simon that might be something adjacent to a laugh. That's progress!

But there is the elephant in the room. And no, that doesn't mean Rowan.

"Well, what our family did, at least after mom passed away," says Simon bitterly, glancing up at Rowan, "Was crimes. And I don't mean petty thievery, I mean dealing, protection rackets, and murder. Atya here had a penchant for burning down buildings. With people in them."

"Oh come on! You and I both know that Luci made me do that! He's the one you should be blaming, not me. We're both victims here!" explodes Atya, her good-natured demeanor disappearing in an instant as her eyes flare orange.

"Yeah, and you left me with him and Cea, and went off god knows where!" spits back Simon, his crest flaring up in anger. Both of them seem to have almost forgotten Rowan is here, glaring daggers at each other.

[Keeper]

Draco Street Bakery

Rowan does his best to put himself between the two but since he's carrying one of them that mostly means just turning a little.
He also doesn't mention that he doesn't own this business he's just the assistant manager.
"Okay, well, it sounds like that there's some history here. Maybe we should um. Take this outside or something?" Don't break the cookie cases!
He isn't really going to judge someone for a history of crimes as much as he probably should on account of the whole Granny thing.

[bc56]

Aiko's Bad Day
Mary just stands awkwardly. She's not sure what to say. If either Aiko wants a conversation, they're going to have to start it.

[Ironsmith]

[Aiko's Bad Day]

Awkward silence reigns for the moment.

...Well, somewhat awkward. At least it might be for Mary. The Aikos seem moderately comfortable with the lack of conversation. The older of the two simply sits, statue-like, staring at the far side of the platform, while the one with the sigils on her hands and neck is right next to her, nose planted firmly in her recently-acquired book of sudoku puzzles, brow furrowed in concentration.

And then, despite being occupied, a certain twitchiness worms its way back up to the surface. Her fingers rap against the plastic back of the book, first idly, then coming to a stop, then in transparent irritation. All this time, she's not interacted with the puzzle on the first page in any way; no notes, no tracing of her fingers along the rows or columns, and certainly no symbols placed.

"...Are you having difficulty?" The older Aiko asks.

"Well, yes." Her sigiled counterpart responds. "That was the point."

"...You do not seem to have made any progress."

"I'm getting there. It's designed to not give one any information for free."

"...Would her highness care for my help?"

Sigil Aiko clenches the book defensively. "It's completely invalidated if I have help!" She proclaims. "I said I would solve the puzzle, so I will solve the puzzle."

"...Very well. But need I remind your majesty that I am also you, and therefore my help would not invalidate your solution?"

"Not right now, you're not." Sigil Aiko frowns. "When we're merged again, you can inervene as much as you would like. But as of this moment we are two separate people, even if we are both Aikobaz the Third, Empress of the Astral Empire." She gives a little nod toward Mary. "I could no more ask for your help than I could that of Princess Brignole."

"...Does that not seem... unnecessarily tedious?"

"Hardly. We are still empress, Aiko. We have people counting on us, whether they are here to remind us as much or not. And we cannot permit ourselves to slip into mediocrity. It is the highest calling which we must answer, and we must answer it with no less than our best."

"...And that applies to a simple puzzle?"

"There is nothing to which it does not apply."

The older Aiko looks over at Mary, then her younger counterpart, offering a little nod back in her direction. It might take a moment for the gesture to register as a request for backup.

[TeChameleon]

[Aiko's Bad Day]

Eddie just nodded to Darko, falling into step beside him. As they walked, he tugged his hood back into place, disappearing back into the relative safety of the fabric hiding his face.

If Darko was watching, he'd notice that Eddie walked as if he was terrified of bumping into anyone, somehow sliding into tiny openings between the students in the halls, almost dancing to avoid even incidental contact. A little thought would make the reason obvious- if anyone bumped into the little golem expecting him to be flesh and blood, they could hurt themselves, potentially even quite seriously.

But it didn't help make Eddie seem any less shy.

After a moment, he said in a small voice "Sorry if I acted weird with all that 'I'm so tough' stuff... a lot of the time, acting like that is the only way I can get adventuring jobs, because everybody is always all 'oh, he's so tiny and cute, I couldn't possibly put him in danger', and then I starve."

[bc56]

Aiko's Bad Day
Mary sees that. An invitation to weigh in?
"Do you really think your people care about whether you can solve a puzzle on your own? They'll never even know what you do in the Nexus." Mary's always thought Aiko acting the part of the empress was silly; here, she's just a random kid.

[Ironsmith]

[Aiko's Bad Day]

"Maybe not. But I'd know." Sigil Aiko replies with a soft sigh. "...I'm sure it all sounds very silly to you. But this is not about what I'm seen doing. This is about what I do. I keep the promises I make, even if the only person to whom I make them is myself."

"Much to your consternation." Old Aiko mutters.

"...And that is as much true in the little things as the great." Sigil Aiko folds over the first page of the book, wrapping its cover around her hand, apparently for comfort. "If I break the small promises I make to myself, what good is my word on the larger promises? If I cannot commit to even trivium, how can I commit to the things that well and truly matter? If I am not faithful in little, I will not be faithful in much." She shifts herself into a cross-legged position, staring down at the page. "And so I will be faithful in little."

"...In other words, had I offered my assistance from the beginning..."

"I still would have turned you down. But I at least would have thought about it a little first."

[quillpleasant]

Aiko's Bad Day

Searching

Darko does note the golem's shyness- it's familiar, because he's the same way. Admittedly he's not scared of pulverizing bystanders, but his magic can do worse things with little warning.

"Hey, you're fine," he says, as reassuringly as he can manage, "I mean... I guess I kind of relate, people underestimate me too. Which is scary sometimes, because I can hurt people so easily. But yeah, I just got worried because... well, I live with these Wizards. I mean, lived, back when I was staying in the Theatre. And they look like monsters, so with you being such a big adventurer guy, I got worried you'd try to slay them is all."

It's almost the reverse of the usual response to Eddie- the golem's boasting made him seem too powerful.

"But mainly I just couldn't think around that many people. I've been alone for so many years, it's still weird being in groups." He puts his hands into the pockets of his jacket, letting out a sigh he's been holding back.

---

Draco Street Bakery

Rowan's suggestion does seem to curtail the rising aggression. The glow in Atya's eyes dims and she glances at the ground.

"I... I really want to talk this out, but I can't stick around for long. I have a paternity test to go to." And she has to put on a disguise and everything beforehand too.

"Wait, what? Are you...?" Simon's anger gives way to confusion.

"No, idiot, it isn't mine," says Atya, perhaps a little more sharply than she intended. She inhales sharply, then manages a smile at Rowan.

"Look. I can see that Rowan needs to hear a bit of family history. Why don't the two of you talk that out, and then if you want my side of things, you reach out. If not, I'll leave you alone. Cool?" She takes out a business card and holds it out. Simon nods warily, reaching out to take it.

[TeChameleon]

[Aiko's Bad Day]

Searching

'Big adventurer guy' got a huffing laugh from under Eddie's hood, but his voice was serious when it came.

"If you invite me into your space, I'm not killing anything you don't specifically request that I kill; it's your space, and monster-ish or not, I will not violate guest-right."

Then the hood moved in a way that suggested Eddie was tilting his head thoughtfully once again. "Wait... lived with apparent monsters in a theatre? That is... you are quite young, yes? I'm... never quite sure with organics... but as far as I understand it, that is an unusual arrangement for a young organic being, correct?" There was no judgement in Eddie's tone, just open curiousity and wanting to understand yet another aspect of the life of organics, something that he probably would never entirely understand.

As an afterthought, he nodded. "Large groups are not my favourite as well. I've also spent a good deal of time alone, or with my small adventuring party."

[Ironsmith]

[Aiko's Bad Day]

[Koko]

"I can't imagine they agreed to those names," Asami notes, raising an eyebrow at Koko. "Anyways, I don't think you'll really feel anything about it after the fact. You'd just be one person, same as before. That's the theory, at any rate."

Asami blinks in musing, continuing on, "There are better places to put your sympathies, ya know. You could accomplish a lot more as three separate people than you can as one. But 'Aiai'-senpai seems to only care for her own struggles. You should just try not to think about her, and all."

[Aiko's Bad Day]

"Well... no, they didn't, but I like them and I think they fit really well." Koko smirks. "So I'm gonna keep using them! At least until someone tells me to stop."

Her smiles fades a little as Asami explains what being merged will probably feel like. "Kya! That's even worse!" She squeaks, her grip on his arm tightening. "I don't wanna stop feeling things! That's awful!" She buries her face in the boy's shoulder, shaking a little. "Even if I just feel what she feels, I don't think she'd listen to me about it! She'd just be all 'You will take those feelings and shove them down where they cannot be found.'" She briefly assumes a haughty, imperious air, much like the one Aiai always seemed to have about her. "Can you imagine what that must be like? Being a voice in someone's head that they never listen to?"

[Keeper]

Draco Street Bakery

Rowan nods and lets the siblings exchange contact information.
It's only after he gives Atya a chance to leave that he comments quietly to Simon.
"Well, I admit: I was not expecting the first time I met a boyfriend's family that they didn't comment on the 'massive dragon' thing."
He was really expecting it to come up, but maybe Simon being a tiny lizard obfuscated that detail's importance.

[[brackets lover]]

[Aiko's Bad Day]

"That's called a conscience," Asami jokingly replies, smiling at Koko, "And, uh, that's starting to hurt... _{a little}."

Asami blushes, proceeding to the library and opening the doors, leading Koko through. Nearly immediately, he gets to work logging in and booting up the game before turning back to Koko. "Err... do you still know your computer account?" he asks.

[Ironsmith]

[Aiko's Bad Day]

"Yeah! Imagine being our conscience! It'd be the worst!" Koko affirms, easing up on Asami's arm a bit.

As they take their seats at the computers, Koko smiles and reaches out to the keyboard... only to stop and vacantly stare at the screen, a little smile still plastered on as her hands hover over the keys.

"...E...eto..." She mumbles, staring for a moment longer, with twitchy fingers, before her hands come up to her mouth. "Oh, no! I don't remember at all!" She squeaks. "That means I can't log in, and if I can't log in I can't play with you!"

To hear her say it, there's nothing more tragic than what happened just now.

But, almost as soon as she realizes this, a light bulb seems to go off in her head and she's right back to smiling. "...But that's okay!" She chirps, stepping out of her chair and around behind Asami. "I don't need to be in the game to have fun with you! I can just sit here and watch, too!" She rests her chin on the boy's head, beaming into the monitor. "Who knows? Maybe I can still help, somehow!"

[quillpleasant]

Aiko's Bad Day

Library

Darko nods at the reassurance. And oddly enough, he is reassured- Eddie gives off the vibe of someone who isn't in the habit of going back on their word.

And of course, he asks the usual question, although the wording of organics is kind of funny. It makes Darko feel like a high end fruit or vegetable.

"Yeah, my family went missing, about five years ago. I found the Theatre, and the Wizards took me in. Now I'm living here at PREP, but I still spend a lot of time at the Theatre, so the Wizards can help get rid of my magic." He rattles this off swiftly, as if he's given this same explanation many times. Which is accurate, because he has.

"So you're an adventurer? Like going on Delves and stuff? I've always thought being part of a team would be cool. What was yours like?" Darko can't help asking questions, since he's been learning a lot about that line of work through his Archaeology class and spending time with his friend Bismuth. He's also gathered from Eddie's way of speaking that the golem is a lot older than he looks.

As they converse, it shouldn't take too long to come to the library door. Darko peers in. "Aaaand I think I see them at the computers. Should we just head over, or go sneaky style so they don't run away?" Asami probably wouldn't do that. But he wouldn't put it past him.

---

Draco Street Bakery

Atya collects her baked goods and puts them into her duffle bag, taking care to keep the pie upright. Wouldn't look very good to show up with a broken pie. She looks like she's going to say something else, then sighs, waves at the two of them, and heads out the door.

Only then does Simon relax, sagging limply in Rowan's arms like a cat. "Yeah, I know, right? Considering there were no dragons on our world. I guess because she'd already met you the initial shock was over."

He pinches the bridge of his snout with a tiny claw. "Oh man. I hate to drag you into all this. I for real thought I'd never see any of them again. But at least it's Atya- the others are all way worse. And I'm kind of responsible for a few of them going to prison, which they will hopefully never find out, if they're even still alive."

Simon looks down at the card. "I don't know... should I hear her out, or give her the cold shoulder? You're good at reading people, what's your relatively unbiased opinion? As an outsider." He's at least self aware enough to tell that he is extremely emotionally compromised by this situation, so it's hard to think objectively.

[TeChameleon]

[Aiko's Bad Day]

Library

Eddie wants to ask more about Darko's living situation... the whole 'family going missing' thing was triggering his adventurer instincts, and part of him wanted to promise that he'd rush off immediately and start trying to find them, but of course the two of them already had a job to do. That and Darko didn't seem all that eager to talk about it, so Eddie let it go for the moment.

As they walked, Eddie smiled widely enough that you could hear it in his voice. "My old party was great. I worked with a few over the years, but the first one was the longest, and in a lot of ways, the best. There were four of us in total, the oddballs and weirdoes of the guild."

"You've met me already, of course- the others? Well, one of them was one of the only organic beings I've ever met who even came close to my strength, Twinkleshine the Enraged. She was a pixie berserker, and I saw her beat a hydra to death with its own heads once. Not bad for someone who was six inches tall."

"Then there was Grogamagog the Magnificent, one of the only orcish arcanists I've ever met, a remarkably powerful wizard, and just a great guy all around. Also the only wizard I've met who could crack open walnuts with his bicep..."

"And lastly there was Lightning-Dancer of... something like M'oon'fae'moo'n Wooded Green. I swear it changed every time he said it, part of me has always wondered if he was screwing with us. An elf, and one of the fastest beings I've ever met. When we were clearing out that hydra nest, his ended up having heads cut off so fast it wound up looking like confused broccoli."

Then Eddie's voice went sad. "It all ended when a bunch of the townsfolk wanted to mob me... they all wanted to defend me, but they would have lost either way... either they would have been killed, or they would have exterminated most of the town and been viewed as monsters. I snuck away at night and never saw them again. It was the only way I could think of to protect them."

Thankfully, the two of them reached the library and their targets around that point, so further painful memories were cut short.

"Let's just go in." Eddie said, doing his best to collect himself. "If we sneak up, wouldn't they be more likely to run?"

[[brackets lover]]

[Aiko's Bad Day]

Library

Asami gasps a bit as his head is pressed down against. For a moment, nothing else mattered. This pure, warm feeling pulsating throughout his body dominated his thoughts. The sheer flusteration he was feeling was writ plain by the anime blush on his face.

Gradually, he makes sense of things, Darko and Eddie being as more background details to Asami right now. His focus was on Koko alone, and enjoying the time they're spending together. The sort of enthrallment felt when making a new friend would be a realistic explanation of his current feelings, an explanation he would internally adopt.

He gets to work starting on minecraft, digging a simple staircase mine by spawn.

"Sooo uhmmm... You can't remember your password? Maybe you can ask a staff member for help? But anyways, the fact that you can't remember at all is... Is there anything else you can't remember? Like what classes you have tomorrow, for example?"

[Ironsmith]

[Aiko's Bad Day]

Library

"Uun..." Koko ponders this for a moment, settling in a little more, her forearms resting on his shoulders and hands folding together just in front of his neck. There's an almost musical lilt to her humming as she thinks, her tail flicking back and forth gently behind her; a thing Asami will probably feel more than see, unless he's paying attention to her vague reflection in the monitor.

"...Nope!" She says finally. "Not a clue! I think I'd normally have fencing right around now, question mark? But I don't know for sure. I think keeping track of that kind of thing was Babaz or Aiai's job. I kinda remember, like it's sort of on the tip of my tongue... I know this time of day tomorrow, I'd start to get really excited about..." She pauses, thinking, before settling on "Nanka. Something." She shrugs a little. "I don't remember the actual subject, but... oh! I know, I could ask Aigothurz~!" She purrs happily. "We have that class together, I know, and maybe he even knows the rest of my schedule!"

She lets out a dreamy sigh and smiles. "Yeah, I think that's what I'll do later. Even if he doesn't know, I'd like to ask him anyway. He has a really nice voice, ne? The kind that makes you feel all warm inside even when he's telling you something sad? Nanka..." She pauses, trying to draw up a good parallel. "...Morgan Freeman. He's got a Morgan Freeman voice."

[Keeper]

Draco Street Bakery

"Well, she didn't seem that bad, but I also feel for a fey doing one of the oldest routines in the book so I don't know if I really am that great a judge of character."
He was sleepy and hungry though so is it really his fault?
"My family, real or otherwise, are pretty much all shitty. But I guess it can't hurt. Too much. And I can be there just in case. "Besides she looked like she might be making more money than us."
What has Simon been doing to make money anyway?

[quillpleasant]

Aiko's Bad Day

Library

Darko giggles at the description of Eddie's old party. They sound like the kind of larger than life characters he'd read about in Rudolph Raspe's work, and it's clear that the golem holds them in high regard. But he grows serious at the end of the story.

If there's anything Darko can relate to, it's avoiding people in fear of hurting them. He understands perfectly well why Eddie chose to leave.

"They sound pretty cool. Grogamagog especially. We share a title- my stage name is Darko the Magnificent," he admits. Sometimes he even feels like it fits. "Maybe you'll find them again someday."

He can't help but think of his family. Is he going to be able to see them again? Darko certainly hopes so, as unlikely as it seems.

But for now, it's time to focus on the mission. Walking into the library, he starts to head over to Asami and Koko, then pauses. They look pretty comfortable. Huh. In any other circumstance he would just slink away and then badger Asami for details later, but again, mission.

"Hey you guys!" he says, in a rather loud whisper, "We've been sent to bring you back. For safety reasons."

---

Draco Street Bakery

Simon sighs. "She wasn't that bad. I got along better with her than any of the others." He struggles for a moment, then shrugs. "Okay, yeah. I mean, if it's really just her, I'll hear her out. And it would be nice for you to be there. I just hope her twin doesn't ever show up." Then he'd really be scared.

"And she did look pretty loaded, huh? Wonder how that happened." Last time he saw her, she was as poor as the rest of them.

Not that Simon is in poverty now. Freelance coding and crypto really pays off, despite all evidence to the contrary.

[Keeper]

Draco Street Bakery

Cryptocurrency in the Nexus is profitable because it's mostly just trading with Digimon.
"Twin, huh? Well, I'm an only child, so I don't really know about this kind of family issues. I would think being a twin might be kind of cool but it sounds like there's bigger problems in that dynamic."
Of course, Rowan is not the correct normal guy who ended up being cursed into being a large magical creature with a blue color scheme. Henry is the one who is all of that and a twin.

[[brackets lover]]

[Aiko's Bad Day]

Library

Asami gasps more as Koko puts her hands in front of his neck, feeling wholly trapped in a strange sort of way. He laughs off Koko's monologue, asking, "Who's Morgan Freeman?"

Sadly, Darko barging in snaps Asami out of his pleasant lull as he tilts his head to the side in an attempt to face Darko. "Safety... Ah! That's right, I gotta farm some food," says Asami, turning back to the game and carrying on the conversation with half-attention, "And you can forget your safety reasons. That's a weak excuse, considering what you guys get up to daily." He pauses to focus on the game, suddenly inquiring a few seconds later, "Why do you even care so much? You know I've got everything under control."

[Ironsmith]

[Aiko's Bad Day]

"Yeah! He's got everything under control!" Koko echoes, shuffling around such that Asami is between her and the golem-magician duo. "Besides, we all know you're just going to try to shove me back in with Aiai and Babaz! That's a horrible thing to do! Leave me alone, you... you big, dumb dummies!"

She lets out a sharp gasp and holds her hand over her mouth, staring at the two of them wide-eyed. "Oh, I'm so sorry, I... I didn't mean that." She says quietly. "Not the part about you being dummies, anyway. I just... please don't make me go. I like being out here. And hanging out with Asami has been a lot of fun."

Apparently, three minutes of being an audience to a Minecraft playthrough qualifies.

"...I really don't want to go back." She concludes, shrinking down behind the star.

[TeChameleon]

[Aiko's Bad Day]

Library

Eddie actually facepalmed, something that he had never really expected to do. This was why he hadn't wanted the group to split up in the first place; if momentum was lost on this kind of experience, it became a hundred times harder to get things rolling again, and then things went horribly, horribly wrong.

The little golem was thinking hard, trying to find the words to convince beings that were remarkably alien to him to listen. He didn't delude himself into thinking he knew what was best for them; he had no idea. But he did know that he was trying to prevent bad things from happening to... well, Koko, at least; as far as he knew, Asami didn't have any impending catastrophes hanging over their head.

"It's... it's not an external threat, Asameekune, it's not comparable to going out and... delving, or whatever. You can't protect her from her own body not working right anymore." At least, Eddie didn't think the starchild could do that. He really didn't know what anyone at the academy could or could not do.

He gestured to Koko. "Are you sure you're feeling alright? You're thinking clearly, not having any brain fog, strange lapses of memory or headaches?"

Speaking of headaches, if it were possible for the little golem to get one, he would probably have one right now from sheer concentration. "Look, do you trust... it was Sekhmet, right?.. and their opinion? That's who the others are headed to see; this is very clearly not a natural state for you to be in, and you have to be very, very careful with magical accidents, even ones that don't split you into three different people. Would you be willing to consult with Sekhmet about this before you just run off and do whatever it is you do?"

[bc56]

Aiko's Bad Day
Mary shakes her head. "That can't be a healthy way to think. How the Home do you deal with the stress of not being perfect? You need to loosen up, do some things just to do them, have some fun, and not worry about being perfect all the time because that's impossible."

[Ironsmith]

[Aiko's Bad Day]

"Of course." Sigil Aiko readily agrees. "Perfection is unattainable. I am not unaware of this fact and I do not expect myself to be perfect. But I do expect myself to be faithful. I do expect that if I fail at something, it will be after an honest, sincere attempt, and not because I gave up on it because I did not have the courage or integrity to see it through. Only by challenging oneself can one hope to grow."

"...And what of leisure? Do you simply not entertain the idea of entertainment?" Old Aiko prompts.

"In principle, no. In practice, there is a limited number of hours in the day and every one I spend in front of a television and in bunny slippers is one I am not spending on my obligations. If I am not resting, it is because I am not finished. And I promise you, there is always work to be done."