#During their first conversation after Theo rescues him from ghouls in the Lost Chapel

[offsidekineticist]

💎💎💎 possibly? If you're still doing them!

Honestly these are so much fun I'll always still be doing them, lol. This one in particular. Also Giliys and Harper took over my brain, so you get two for the price of one.

"Mino." He seems to be staring off into the distance despite there being a wall directly behind you. He suddenly shakes his head, like a dog shaking himself dry. "Sorry, there's...a lot that comes up when she...uh...comes up....and most of it has nothing to do with her. Uh...so first off: she's great. Just...getting that out there. I think she's...well I guess the shortest way of saying it is that she's a good person. That's...not something I ever expected to say about a hellknight. But, uh, she is. Good, I mean. And when she's with Regill -" he cuts himself off. "No. That's - you wanted me to talk about what I think of Mino. Not...yeah.

"Anyway, uh...yeah, she's great. We're bardic hammer buddies. Just...completely devastating to tonedeaf skeletons everywhere. And everyone is a skeleton if you hit them hard enough, so....and it's really fun sort of...coordinating our performances on the fly."

He sighs and hangs his head. "Sorry. That's, uh...that's not very...I just don't want to say something that might make it seem like I don't like her or anything - because I do! I just...." He purses his lips. "It was easier to deal with just being 'a coincidence of birth' to Regill when I thought he didn't have a heart anymore." He takes a deep breath, before plastering a huge grin on his face.

"But Mino! I wish we had met in Brastlewark, back before the library...you know. She's so good with Ember - you can tell she loves kids, and the kids at the library would have loved her. I'd probably have to talk to a few of them about not touching other people's tails or feathers or scales without permission, but personal space and bodily autonomy are important lessons for kids to learn. May as well let them learn it while meeting a nice knight lady."

Meanwhile, in another timeline....

"Regill's wife? She's alright." Giliys shrugs. "I mean, she's bought into that hellknight shit - "

"DAT'S A BAD WORD!" Harper screams from her perch on her father's lap, the fur on her tail puffing up as Giliys flinches. She waves a glass jar in her father's face. "You gotta put a copper in da swear jar now! Dat's da rule!"

Giliys sighs as he reaches into his coin pouch and retrieves a copper piece for the swear jar. "As I was saying, she's bought into the hellknight ideology, probably no saving her at this point - but she means well, so I don't gotta constantly stop myself from reaching for my daggers when we talk."

"PAAAAPAAAA! You're not 'lowed to talk bout daggers in front of da kids! Daddy says so! Dats da rule!"

"Is it, now?" Giliys asks. "How bout I put a copper in the swear jar, then, and we just not mention it to Daddy?" Harper shakes her head.

"Nuh-uh. Swear jar's for swears only."

"That so?"

Harper nods very seriously. "Dat's da rule."

"That's the rule, huh? Well, you know, some rules were made to be broken."

"Dat's stupid."

Giliys sighs. "Yeah, shoulda figured that wouldn't work. Anyway. The sister in law." He shrugs. "I mean, she could definitely do better than Regill, no clue why she settled for that asshole."

"DAT'S A BAD WORD!" Harper shouts.

"You don't gotta shout, Tiger, I'm right here," Giliys says with a wince as he puts another copper in her swear jar. "Inside voice, remember?"

"Oh. Sorry, Papa."

"It's OK, I know you just get excited, just...try to rein it in a little, yeah?"

"Ok."

"Good. Uh...where was I? Right, no idea why she settled for....Regill. Then again I also got no clue why Thay settled for me neither. Maybe good people just have sh - " Giliys freezes, eying the girl on his lap. "Uh, terrible taste in men. There, is that allowed, Tiger?"

"Yeah."

"Alright, how bout you go play?"

"Nuh-uh. I'm s'posed to watch you til the nice person with the questions leaves."

"Are you now?"

Harper nods again, deadly serious. "Cuz Daddy says you can't be trusted alone after last time."

Giliys sighs and mutters under his breath something about "one time" and "being babysat by a four year old" and "didn't even do anything." Having a healthy sense of self-preservation, you choose that moment to take your leave.