milliways_bar | (no subject)

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[Immediately previous, in the Dreaming. Conversation.]

The air by the bar kind of...moves.

And then there is an Aes Sedai and a gunslinger of Gilead.

Roland lets go of Moiraine's hand and looks around. SSDD.

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"Yeah, I know." To all, then Del flops on the floor, crosslegged and thinking.

"No one deserves things. Not really. Ka doesn't think like that. It's not a balancing karma act all the time. Plates spinning all about on the sticks, and sometimes they just crash cause they do. Gravity's the explanation, but it ain't necessarily so, childe. I don't pick. Not like the others, not from before birth. Don't pick, don't claim, just wait until someone comes into my realm and try and hug 'em if they want it, and if not, um. Well. I have bugs and birds and butterflies and bile and they're fun. But yeah, no. Y'know Susannah's kinda one of mine, yeah? Was. But you never really get over. You don't recover, you're always recovering. One foot remains in the grave, even when the vamps claw their way out to the moon. Just is."

Roland listens to all this.

"Yes." Quiet. "I knew she was. Is. I've always been close to those you claim, lady."

"Freud might say that there's a reason for that, Roland Deschain."

"Freud was an asshole. He annoyed me so much. Anyway. And any way. You seriously need to get laid and have a date with, like, flowers and chocolates and goofy ties and maybe you being all cheerful and nervous and possibly walking on sunshine cause it feels good, don't it."

"That was supposed to be internalized. I'm not so good at that. Oops. Um."

"...I like frogs?"

This is Del's way of saying, "My train of thought has not only been lost, it's off telling riddles somewhere. Say sorry."

Roland smiles a little. "Fleur would say the same. She has said the same."

"Then why aren't you listening?"

"Other things to do."

"Stubborn. And dumb."

"Some might say so," Roland agrees.

"Who wouldn't? Sides you?"

A slight smile.

"River."

"I feel that kinda proves my point a little too, but I'm not sure why. I may just be exasperated. It's entirely possible. Does your hair taste particularly good, that you know of?"

...

"...I wouldn't know. Your daughter thought so, though. When she was in the care of Kitty."

"It looks like it should," Del says seriously.

"--Should I make up for that along with giving her boyfriend a sex toy?" Del is Very Serious.

She isn't quite sure what you do with this almost-sane thing sometimes.

She has the vague idea she should give someone a zebra. Possibly Roland.

But she also thinks this might be nuts, and Del knows nuts.

Roland shakes his head. "Thank you, lady, but...so far as I know, your daughter is the only one who has tried to taste my hair. And likely she'll be the only one to attempt. So there wouldn't be much point to it, I'm afraid."

"...Um. You realize this is Milliways, yeah? Hair-tasting's kinda dull. But okay. No zebra for Roland. No more tea flavoured sex powder for Edmund. Butterfly for Kitty. Song for Moiraine. Got it."

Del feels this isn't right, though.

"Oh! I know."

She hands Roland a box that contains twelve tiny wooden figurines of animals.

Ape Bat Bear Eagle Fish Hare Horse Lion Rat Snake Turtle Wolf

Roland looks...pleased. Very pleased.

"Thankee-sai, lady."

"I picked the fish. Wanted the bear to be a butterfly. No one listened. You're welcome."

Del smiles.

And she's gone, with the scent of oranges and mint behind her.

By "gone" we mean "turned into many tiny fishes and butterflies," but it's Del.

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