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[oom: Guppy fails in his role as the fountain of all knowledge.]

Guppy makes it half way across the bar when he realises that a lot of the patrons are, well, kind of shorter and younger...

Hmmm.

He goes into the infirmary, and finds it as he left it (deducing from this that he has not gone back in time), except that one of his younger two (male) waitrats is attempting with limited success to feed a pair of tiny, eyes barely open half bald waitrats, still dressed in their now very oversized scrubs shirt.

"Aesclepius? Work Experience?" Guppy peers at the pair. The third waitrat, Backup, shrugs and hands him the syringe of milk.

"Wait, what happened?" he asks, but his remaining waitrat, tired by days of feeding every few hours, scurries off for a kip.

Five minutes later, he's got the two shrunk infirmary waitrats in a cardboard box on a warm towel, and is back in the bar looking for some answers.

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"But who would not risk the universe for someone they love?" Teja asks. "Would you not risk it for your wife and children? Would I not risk it for Adalgoth, Wachis, and their families?"

"I hope I will never end up in that position." Guppy says quietly. "At very least if I never know my own future I can do what I would do."

"But even knowing the future, how could one resist a chance to set things right in that way?" Teja says. "This is a place of second chances: - why should we ask them not to take those?"

"There isn't an easy answer to that." Guppy says. "And I'm certainly no expert."

"It if were easy, we would not still be mangling our minds over the question," Teja points out.

Edited 2013-10-21 21:25 (UTC)

"It's a terrible time for Gavroche, and we must look after him whatever path he chooses."

"Indeed," Teja says, "whatever Éponine and he may do, to help or to comfort."

"The rest of the French, we shall have a tete a tete with later."

"We shall have to deal with the 1832 people as they come," Teja says, "when they need us, and if they wish to."

Pause.

"Unless Javert tries to inflict harm upon himself again. I was going to give him a blade, as any man working for me should by rights carry a weapon of my making; but now I hesitate giving him a sword, as he might see it as an invitation to throw himself upon it."

"Hm. Probably a good idea, though he probably would have done it by now."

"But one may never know what would provide fresh inspiration for such a deed," Teja says, "and I do not wish to give him any."

"Indeed." Guppy nods. "Maybe wait until he's more settled. Or make him jewellery."

Teja slowly shakes his head.

"It must be a blade," he says. "I shall wait."

"Is that a tradition of your people?"

"Yes and no," Teja says. "It is more what my people would expect to see of me. Others would give jewellery or suchlike things to the men of their comitatus, also; but I am Teja, fiercest of fighters, my boons granted in blades."

Guppy nods.

"Maybe later then."

Teja nods.

"Shall I get us some tea?" he says. "I fear with that last announcement, I have run out of both grimness and alliterations for the time being."

"That would be lovely." Beat. "Fancy helping me hand rear a rat for half an hour?"

Teja fetches a mug of tea for each, then sits again.

"I have hand-reared a kitten, and fed a baby," he says. "This cannot be so very different."

"Thanks. Will you still get to see Egil?" Guppy asks, tentatively.

He couldn't bear it if he lost his kids, even though they've been together a lot longer.

He passes over Aesclepius, who is squeaking indignantly.