#elsewhere

"I'm good at tinkering with things. Which is what nockers do. Should do. I can do. I'm good at fixing things. I fixed Citrine, yeah?"

"You didn't just fix her, you saved her" A smile

She reaches to gently boop the clockwork Never's head.

"So, yeah. Probably better to just get through this now, anyways, instead of building it up."

Gwen sighs "I don't agree, but I won't bully you about it. Sorry if I did in the past."

"Maybe that's why this all feels wrong. I dunno. But I guess having everything messed up is par for the course. Maybe it's better Art is seperate, so I don't mess it up for him."

"I doubt he'd agree"

"Well, Art's an idiot."

"You like Idjits" She pets Muppet as if to illustrate a point

"I do seem to collect them." Chime!

A smile at that "So it seems"

"I guess it makes sense that my saining would be... I dunno... less."

"And I just need to get over it."

It is then Gwen strives to remember to arrange for Thistle's saining to be a blow out , even if on short time, a grand celebration. She'll tell mom and their lordships "If .. if you had the time, and other stuff wasn't going on, what would it be like you think?"

She shrugs. "I'm not the hero, right? I'm the NPC that fixes things for the hero."

"I didn't even... I always figured it would be Art's big day, and I'd be part of that, because... y'know?"

"I don't know... I seem to recall a girl who was a hero who ran a police car over bad guys"

"You don't get it."

A tilt of head but she doesn't protest

"You're... you stand on your own, yeah? You're strong, and you make sense and you fit in and you're a knight and Marigold's daughter and do everything with the hounds... you fit."

A brow knit, but a slow nod. She's trying to listen

"I'm not... " She frowns. "It... the places I fit, they're not..."

"This is gonna sound like a cop out, but a lot of the ..where I fit stuff? Didn't come till after my saining"

"Yeah, I guess."

"Maybe it'll be easier then."

"My past life was a friend of my mom's. How weird is that? Who knows what yours will reveal"

A melancholy shrug.

A soft-clawed hand... how is that even a thing? Reaches out from Thistle's backpack and pats her hand with his own. "Hard, not having a place." The Bugaboo agrees.

"I know what it is, I just... it's dumb."

"You feel how you feel" Gwen nods. Muppet has moved from her to leap up next to the nocker on her own bed or sittng spot

"Willy and Wudlig seem plenty happy."

"Well. Content, I guess."

"I like tinkering with things. I do."

"If Willy is happy I don't think I want to be. I've never seen her smile" a pause "And Wudlig is actually bummed. You heard he lost in the arms race right?"

The Bugaboo hides again when the dog comes near, but multiple eyes blink from within hiding spot.

"I heard, yeah."

"It just feels so..." She closes her eyes. "I'm stupid."

"You really need to stop attacking my friend like that"

a grumble

"Sorry. I guess I'm tired."

"Let's get some sleep then" A nod "Things won't be better in the morning but we'll have moer energy for it'

A ring-a-ding on the ol' hello-phone. Er, rather, Trina's phone buzzes with an incoming call.

"Ah.. Should you get that?"

It's ol Farty Artie. Wait, no, Trina didn't have him entered on her phone like that. Did she?

She does not - though it's still "Artie" and not "Art" or "Arthur"

Frown and she beeps in. "Yeah, Art?"

"Hey, can you talk? Is Gwen there? Can we do a... the out loud.. speaker... thing?" He sounds excited.

She rubs wearily at her eyes. "Yeah, sure. One sec..." Beep. "You're on speaker."

"I found Redfin!"