This is Halloween!

[we_bring_hell]

The Bar loves her holidays, but she is also capable of respecting religious strictures. That's why she put a lot of thought into finding a Halloween costume for Harrow that works with her face paint and general insistence on the monochromatic.

Harrow, for her part, is baffled by the white-pinstriped black suit and the oversized bow, but the gloves are very cool, and the buckled shoes suit as well. She has no idea what's going on but she can live with this.

The Bar seems even more unusually populated than usual, and there are a lot of gourds around. Hm.

Comments

[herald_ingress]

"I did not know you could make flour out of crickets," she says, impressed.

She has nothing against eating bugs! She'd prefer not to, is all.

[we_bring_hell]

"All we have on the Ninth are snow leeks," she says. "They're leeks that can grow in extreme cold. We use them to help cycle our air and we eat them."

Being a necromancer has a lot of facets and some of them are botany and managing food supply.

[herald_ingress]

"Is your gruel made of... leeks?"

[we_bring_hell]

"Yes," she says. "It's good!"

She means it doesn't taste like anything.

"We also import nutrient paste and other essentials. You cannot live on leeks alone. We get a negotiated ration in return for housing prisoner from other Houses in the prison. It's run by the Cohort, but we are paid a stipend for orbital rights."

[herald_ingress]

"Good. That's- great."

All of it. Wow.

"Bar, I'd like a double order of chips, please. Oh, no, wait, an order of chips and an order of onion rings."

She grins at Harrow. "I think you might like onion rings. They're fried like chips."

A platter with both appear in front of them, along with a pair of chopsticks, because Ingress really does prefer eating greasy things with them now that she's tried it.

"Oh, and a mudslide, please, Bar."

Because drinking is another Halloween tradition!

[we_bring_hell]

The fried part is not what she likes about chips. Still, she examines an onion ring critically before she bites it, and chews it up doubtfully.

"Thank you. I am trying to overcome my sensitivity to unfamiliar sensations."

Whoops there's that blush again.

[herald_ingress]

"I'd best watch out," she teases. "You might work up to a sip of milkshake twice in one year."

[we_bring_hell]

"I promised Gideon we would have desserts with every meal for accompanying me and Moiraine Sedai to the Ninth House," she says, dismayed by the memory.

[herald_ingress]

"You poor thing. What a terrible thing to endure."

[we_bring_hell]

"Yes, well. I am a soft touch, apparently."

"As long as we were enemies it was simple. Now I have to make sure she is treated fairly." Because God knows Griddle won't do it herself.

[herald_ingress]

"Harrow?" she says, her face lighting up.

"Do you have news to tell? About you and Gideon?"

If she's a little wistful, she hides it well. Truly, if there is news, she's delighted for both of them.

[we_bring_hell]

She hesitates, unsure what to say; what even are the words

"She is my cavalier; my sworn sword. When we began this journey, it was an act, to hide the threadbare House of the Ninth."

"But we have told each other the truth, and it is... real, now. One flesh, one end."

She flames beneath the paint. "She is... dear to me. And if she will give of herself without stinting, I must ensure she is given her due, if she won't."

[herald_ingress]

Oh. That's so sweet. And there's a pang in her heart, but it's not one of jealousy or regret. It's just one of longing.

"I'm happy that you're both taking care of each other. Truly."

[we_bring_hell]

Harrow's smile is small and rather shy.

"The relationship between cavalier and necromancer is usually not romantic," she says.

"But it is not forbidden. No matter what, it is a very intimate relationship of mutual support and protection."

[herald_ingress]

"That's important kind of relationship to have in one's life."

One day...

[we_bring_hell]

"I think it--cavaliership in general, not between Griddle and I in particular--may be like what you have with your Megwyn," she says, very uncertain. "Only we are both human, so our interdependency is... different, I am sure."

"But perhaps I speak of things I do not understand."

[herald_ingress]

"No, there are definitely similarities. Just with a Companion and Herald it's more of a parental or sibling bond. We can have attachments to other humans outside of that. Many Heralds marry or lifebond to other Heralds or people surrounding us. But your Companion is always, always</I there, and when one of you dies, the other follows."

[we_bring_hell]

"Yes, of course," she says. "It's quite rare for a necromancer to marry their cavalier, and there are... obstacles. It's much more often a platonic, chivalric bond."

"It strikes me as strange--almost like having a third party to your marriage--but it is the more common way. My parents were both necromancers, but of course they shared a cavalier."

[herald_ingress]

"I learned at an early age to not overthink this kind of thing. Especially here, where there can be so very many sorts of bonds and relationships, you just, I don't know. You let go, and you love. So long as everyone is happy, it doesn't matter if seems strange to others."

[we_bring_hell]

She nods. "I was startled to hear that Lan Wangji's preference for men would be an obstacle to him in his world. But of course, they don't have even rudimentary fetal technology."

[herald_ingress]

"Oh, would it? Wei Wuxian said it wasn't a typical thing, but not that it would be an obstacle."

She shakes her head. "That's sad. I don't understand it. But even for Valdemar, it's not commonplace, nor is it universally favored. Not for men, anyway. Women have an easier time, I've noticed."

[we_bring_hell]

"It doesn't matter in the Empire," Harrow says. "Well--an exclusive preference might be remarked upon, if it were made obvious. The assumption is that gender is not a deciding factor, but of course most people have no idea about a stranger's romantic history."

"But we have our rules, I suppose, and our political marriages. Mostly around necromancers and cavaliers, or marriage out of House. It's assumed if you marry a necromancer of another House you will join the House of the necromancer; two necromancers of different Houses would likely not be permitted to marry."

"And a marriage between two necromancers has its own complexities; more practical than legal."

[herald_ingress]

"I'd like to get married one day. Tom and Door, they've been together for a long time, and they still make googly eyes at each other sometimes. And my mother and father were fond of each other. I don't remember a lot about them, but I remember they were so sweet to us, to each other. I hope to find someone to be with like that."

Ugh. She's getting lovelorn and maudlin on Halloween in a Wonder Woman costume. There has to be a bar rule against that!

"But, here now, we're both too young to talk of getting married and settling down. There's much too much to be done before that happens."

[we_bring_hell]

"My parents--I'm not sure if they were a love match or a political marriage. They united two powerful family lines, I know that. And by the time I came along..."

By the time she came along, there seemed to be no love left in Priamhark Noniusvianus or Pelleamena Novenarius at all.

"I suppose I haven't had many examples at all," she says, growing pensive. Some sweet elderly couples on the Ninth.

[herald_ingress]

"Well, then you're here now. You can find new examples to model."