They consult their beloved.

Their beloved is not too busy to talk to her alt!

[She is,] says Aianon.

[Awesome. You want to be telephone in person, one of you, or brainphone only today?]

[I will,] says Aianon.

[You can port in.]

Port!

"So me and Ripper went to the renaissance faire and played queens, that was fun," says Bella, closing her eyes almost like Sarion has come over in person for tea. She conjures a cup of that nice elf tea to complete the illusion, sips it. "It was his first public appearance attached to me; there are pictures and speculation everywhere. I haven't had an interview since then but I imagine it'll come up on Thursday's. What are you up to?"

[Yeah?]

[I'm catching up with Sarion. She wants to meet you.]

[...All right.]

Door open. Hug!

He laughs and waves.

Aianon relays this visual to his beloved.

It is Isibel's opinion that he is very charming and Pattern is lucky to have him.

Aianon relays this right back!

"Of course I am," Ripper says smugly. He gives Bella a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

Awwww!

"So yeah, this is Ripper, I've told you about him and probably your beloveds have filled in some stuff too. He's a rockstar, has this thing about knocking before I show up in his apartment, and unless we get interesting news when we hit the peal again nobody else has one."

"I'm unique and beautiful," says Ripper.

"Both of those things." Bella pecks him on the temple.

Awwwwww. Unique and beautiful and funny, too.

"And tasty," Aianon contributes.

"You know it."

Her beloveds miss her too.

"You've got that look again," says Ripper, and he hugs Aianon.

"I'm sorry. We could find a door any time," Bella sighs. "If you wanted we could try finagling something with the thing where Jokers can dream to Milliways, maybe, but it probably wouldn't even work and Sarion's not getting doors either anyway."

Hugs.

Hugs.

Isibel would just as soon speak of happier topics. She has heard what Pattern thinks of Ripper; what does Ripper think of Pattern?

Isibel was hoping for slightly more detail.

"I'm sure nobody wants me to start listing all the things she's amazing at, except maybe you," and he grins at Aianon.

That is fair.

Bella blushes and giggles.

"I am adorable and funny and also a magical empress. Apparently some people have decided Sarion is a saint," she adds.

"How's that work?"

Isibel is not intimately familiar with the human religion, but they apparently think she is an agent of the Light - deliberately or coincidentally - and the title puts her in company with Idalia, who died to defeat darkness more than two thousand years ago.

"Although," says Aianon, "they might change their minds if they knew about me."

Isibel has been planning not to make him generally known until she is better known and better trusted. It would frighten people; it would make it harder to do her job.

"Of course it would."

"Yeah, I don't put Aianon on the cover of the imperial newsletter either," says Bella. "Helpful though he is."

"Aww, he's harmless really," says Ripper. "Big red teddy bear."

Aianon grins fangily at him.

"Ooh, shivers," he murmurs.

It is good that Isibel's beloved is not too lonesome without her.

"Big red teddy bear with fangs and claws and horns a spiky tail and batwings, yes," snorts Bella.

"But still cute and cuddly."

Aianon laughs.

"I'll grant it," laughs Bella.

The cutest, the cuddliest. Her own.

All those things.

Ripper decides to demonstrate Aianon's cuteness and cuddliness by hugging him some more.

Bella laughs softly and closes her eyes again and catches Sarion up on how her empressing is going, what with the resurrections and colonization and such.

Isibel cannot replenish her coin supply, and has to be exceedingly judicious about using anything that she could find herself in dire need of in an emergency. She is doing her empressing by enchantment, still, and triangles and squares, here and there. She has implemented no significant resurrection project, though she willingly distributes torchability to those who'll take it. She catches Pattern up on how that has been going; a great many elves now boast true immortality, and more humans are taking the offer now, too.

"You'd think, if elves live ten times longer, humans would be ten times as excited about immortality," says Ripper.

And yet it does not seem so. Isibel believes this may be because elves already valued long life - this is why they gave up their magic for it in the first place.

"I have only ever met one human from Thilanushinyel," says Aianon, shrugging.

And he in particular could certainly be said to value long life.

He nods.

"...Is there a story here?"

"Let's hear it."

"You're right," says Ripper, "that was anticlimactic. But it's almost better that way, isn't it?"

That was probably for Sarion, if she wants it.

She appreciates hugs and the sentiment behind them.

Far, far away, Isibel wraps her arms around herself and closes her eyes and sighs.

Oh, my love.

It is nice to be able to talk to Pattern, but Isibel would so much prefer to have her beloveds here with her.

So would her beloveds. Although they definitely don't regret meeting Ripper.

(Her beloveds encourage her to to whatever will make her happy.)

(Of course they do.)