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Asch is wandering around the village a bit, looking for a good spot to practice some artes without killing anyone, maybe get some thinking done somewhere other than at home. He's not in any particular mood, good or bad, so if you're lucky you'll catch his good side. His journal is open since he's checking a folded map he's got attached to it, so if you're lucky, you might hear him muttering a bit.]

...so the lake's... further west from here. Damned trees turned me around...

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No, the fact that you take them outside with you just enhances it. [Shrug.] If I ever claim my inheritance I'm giving you Belkend.

Don't joke about that Asch. [Because ohhhh, Guy wants it.]

I'm not joking. It's Father's territory, and I hate it. I don't want anything to do with it.

[Ohhhh he wants it.]

I- you can't. There's political ramifications, and-

You can just give a piece of Kimlasca away.

Either you take it over or I dismantle the entire fonic research department.

Asch, Belkend is Kimlasca's most prominent research institute. That'd be economic suicide.

Considering the security and searches I'd put each and every lab and researcher through, they'd all want to move to Sheridan anyway. I refuse to allow illegal research like fomicry in my territory.

[Ohhh. Guy understands now.]

...Asch, I'm not so sure after what happened with Van that people would touch human fomicry again. I mean...I know Malkuth at least is keeping an extremely tight watch on any and all fonic research. Not to mention that with the dwindling availability of seventh fonons, nobody would have much luck trying anything to begin with.

[Don't forget who you're talking to, Guy. Asch still has very little faith in people, particularly their ability to change.]

You heard what Spinoza said, didn't you? It's the dream of every researcher. Replication is a temptation that can always be brought back as long as people know it existed. Too many people are selfish; they don't care if it hurts the world.

[Guy sits up and props himself up with his hands, taking his time with his answer. He knows a "people can change" speech wouldn't hit as home as it should, so he decides to stick to facts.]

Then you shouldn't worry; it's not a matter of fomicry and the practice of fomicry hurting the world, it's just physically impossible. The gates are shut, and no one can use them to reactivate the Planet Storm. There are so few seventh fonons left that any attempt at fomicry would end in failure; healing artes are the thing of the past, but medicine's gotten much better.

I don't know much of what Belkend's been up to lately, but I was allowed a tour of the facility a few months before I showed up here, at Natalia's request; since I've been financing most of the fontech research in Malkuth, we were thinking about doing a joint project to see how far we could get together.

I didn't see anything about fomicry. Of course, it would've been easy to hide something like that from me, but...it's a thing of the past. War between Kimlasca and Malkuth, fomicry, the Score...it's dying or dead. It's a new world, now.

[Asch is quiet for a bit, considering this, though he does sit up as Guy speaks. It's... such a relief, really, knowing that the world had changed so much in so little of a time. Two years was so brief, so short, yet the entire world had been changed, flipped upside down.

He wasn't certain of what he was feeling, overall, to hear that news, but... he did know that he was so proud of his country, in a way that he hadn't felt in years.

Even if they'd done it all without him.]

...You're right. It's just... stupid, pointless paranoia. I'm overthinking everything again.

[He hugs his knees to his chest, voice lowering to a mumble. He doesn't look depressed so much as resigned.]

It used to be my dream to change the world.

You did change it. [Guy reaches over to drag his fingers through Asch's hair, though they catch a bit and he has to gently untangle them and smooth out Asch's hair.] You and Luke.

Nothing ever happens the way you think it will. [The touch is soothing, and Asch relaxes, smiling a little.] I thought I'd be this great and wise fairytale king with his queen, loved by everyone because we made things better. But this is how I ended up...

Things don't happen the way people envision them, Asch. But I think in the end, that's for the best.

After all, if your future came to be the way you wanted it to, what's the difference between that and the Score?

[And that one shuts Asch right up. He probably hates the Score as much as Guy does.]

None of us thought we'd show up here, but here we are. And none of us thought we'd be what we are, but again, we are. No use lamenting what we could have done or could have been; just make the best of now, so that ten years later we can look back and be proud of what we were.

[You make it hard to feel down, Guy. Probably part of why he loves you so.]

...Thanks, Guy.

Don't mention it.

Don't you ever get tired of babysitting my moodswings?

Nah, it's fun. Like counseling.

I must be racking up quite the tab.

That's why you get to make dinner again tonight.

And here I thought you just liked my cooking.

It's all right.

I'm pretty sure you told me last night that it was amazing.