her belly button, swell of breast and line of hip without straining even.
Rolph spun and looked at it.
“Oh, good, were off the black thing then? What should I change too then? I could match Tor's look, it's pretty unique or maybe-” Closing his eyes the Prince suddenly wore a nice tan cotton thing that looked stylish, with heavier lines of brocade down the front of the shirt, light blue in two stripes. It didn't have pants though, it just was gathered at the waist with a gold cord and hit mid thigh, on his feet were sandals that had dark leather straps and wooden bottoms. Karina finally broke into a grin and matched him but with brown stripes. It was a good enough look, if less sexy, so Tor followed suit, making his brocade stuff green. That seemed right, didn't it?
Important somehow.
The sandals on his feet felt funny to walk in and nearly made him stumble several times before he got the hang of it, but Karina took his hand as they walked out, so he wouldn't land on his face. At the bottom of the stairs she turned to him and kissed his cheek.
“Thank you. I know I'm being a pain. No one wants to be around a doom cloud all day. Thanks for being so nice. I didn't know that when Alphonse brought you home from school I'd be getting such a good friend too.” Her voice sounded soft and subdued, but Karina tried for a smile. It failed pretty badly, but it was an actual attempt.
In the back of the carriage, which annoyed Tor more than a bit, being a bit cramped, with five people. Karina cuddled up to him closely enough that Rolph made a face at him. Then he relented with a huge sigh.
“Screw it. If you can keep a smile on her face for the next two weeks I'll glue the two of you together. Just make sure he has fun sis, or dad will have our behinds. And don't rub it in with Varley or it will be cruel. She really likes Tor, and now that they can't get married…”
Wait, Rolph knew that Varley was mildly upset over her plans changing, but could barely see massive depression in Karina? What the heck was up with that? Karina nodded, murmured “of course” and laid her head on his shoulder, which couldn't have been comfortable given the angle.
Well… Tor could try to entertain her if it would help. She was nice enough and cute, if not as good looking as Varley. But looks were only one thing. Being a good person counted for a lot more. Varley was nice too, but that didn't mean she was a better person overall based on looks. It wasn't like such things were measured on a scale or something, each bit nudging you over others. Besides, she lied a lot, and manipulated. Being smart, she did it well too. That was hard for him to understand, it simply not being his way most of the time. He could lie, but mainly didn't bother. Who cared that much about what he thought anyway?
Something that Tor did notice was that he liked Karina a lot better now that she was pressing herself up against him. It was kind of shallow, but a real effect. Not just lust, he liked her more. Did that happen to everyone? Would he suddenly be friends with Maria if she was sitting there not Karina? All his life Tor had thought that friendship was a mental thing, not some physical mechanism, but what if it was both? Was love the same way? Did people love those they could touch and hold more than people they couldn't or weren't allowed too? It was an interesting idea.
When they got to the first place Tor felt like groaning and running away. If he’d been alone, he simply would have. It was Trice's parents place.
Wonderful.
Tor looked at Rolph and sighed, but his big friend just looked baffled. Was he claiming this wasn't pay back for Tor making him apologize to Maria? He'd seen Trice's mom after the Queen’s day attack, but the last time he'd seen both Eric and Mercy, Tor had kind of been being a petty jerk, demanding back gifts because his feelings had been hurt by Trice. It was just stuff he'd made too, not anything valuable. His argument had ended when the war with Austra began, but he hadn't made amends at all. His palms sweat and heart started racing before they reached the door. Karina still cradled his arm and the case of gifts floated along behind them, like it was supposed to.
The door man was new, probably hired just for the holiday. Her parents were wealthy enough, but didn't live in the Capital all the time. Their house here was great though. It was real. Nice, but not some fake palace in miniature like most of the royals had here. Really, if he'd been picking what to make his own home look like, it would have been this. Only in a light purple. His house, his rules, and purple was his favorite color. The palace thing he had was nice too though, if over done.
Even he could tell that it would look horrible in any color but cream and gold. Making it all purple would be hideous.
Tor hit the sigil on the truth amulet, just tapping his chest on the outside of his clothing, nowhere near the amulet around his neck. It was the intent that did it, not the action. He knew what he meant, and it was enough. Anyone could do it if they bothered to focus a little. They smiled when they saw the glow, but looked slightly troubled.
Ah. They had no reason to know what it meant. It could be a weapon, shield, or just an amusement. He bowed low and then went to all fours lowering until his head touched the floor. It was hard to get the words to come out, because of his great embarrassment, but the words were all true. He'd been a jerk and took his pain out on innocent people. Tor couldn't ask for their forgiveness, because he hadn't earned it yet, but it had to be out there that he was sorry for it. Then he listed off how he'd been petty about mere things, and was wrong to have demanded it back at all. It was a gift and that meant it wasn’t his to ask for.
Rolph explained the glow and what it meant, which got a murmur of appreciation from Eric. Taking him by the shoulders and hands they pulled him up and into a hug with back thumping from the Duke.
“Don't let that trouble you, it's forgotten already. Things were tense after all.” He reassured the much smaller man. Karina nodded at him, apparently getting the idea that letting current anger make you act like a beast didn't help in the long run. The whole thing was embarrassing, but at least Rolph shouldn't feel alone now. He'd taken his turn too. If with a lot less crying and hitting. Then he hadn't told the Duke that he loved him either…
Looking up he saw Trice standing near the back of the room, her face blank and body tense. If she expected him to beg for her forgiveness on the floor she was going to have a wait. A very long wait indeed. He'd forgiven her mainly, and hadn't always treated her as well as he should when he was upset, but that didn't mean he wasn't mad at all. Maybe he'd like her better if they were touching? Walking to her slowly Tor grinned and hugged her. She melted into his arms and didn't move for a while.
“Something for you. “visiting gift”.” Tor had it in the box for her just in case they met up. He held up the plain white disk with its single white light coming out of it making a blip the size and shape of a pea. It was on a heavy silver chain that had cost several golds. Chain was hard to make. The gold ones had cost even more.
“Thank you, it's lovely!” She said and had him help her put it on. An oversight on his part, she couldn't do that with one hand herself. Crap. He'd have to fix it on the next one.
“Does it do anything?” This came from Karina, who, if she was worked up about him touching her cousin really wasn't letting it show.
Tor looked at Trice and nodded.
“Glittery hook. Part one. Give it a try?”
She hit the amulet, and her left arm was back. It was lumpy and didn't fit smoothly, and was too white. At first. It morphed as she looked at it, the feedback from her mind shaping it to what should be there, without conscious effort on her part. The lumps of protruding bone under flesh shifting and seeming to melt, the arm being more delicate than he'd thought. A minute later you couldn't tell she didn't just have her own two arms. Without hesitation she touched it with her other hand.
“It's soft… and warm! Mom feel!” She held it out and then turned it palm up and wiggled the fingers.
“I can move it! I can't feel it, but it's an arm! It 's a real arm. You made me a real arm?” Tears started down her face, then Mercy's, Eric had a huge smile, being way too manly for tears in public.
“Wait!” Tor got everyone to stop with a single word. That was rare. Of course this was magic, and that was his thing. When he gave a warning there people actually listened. Sometimes.
“It should work and feel right, but there's no sense of touch yet. I can pass the sensations to the brain, but I haven't learned how to pick them up. Not just yet. So it's going to take visual feedback to make it work right for now. Kind of a hassle, really you should practice touching yourself before you touch anyone else with it, get used to what it takes to control it.” He nodded to her seriously, but everyone else laughed.
It was that funny that he couldn't make it feel yet? Or that lame. Well… He'd hoped to have it perfect for her by now, but this at least gave her something while she waited for him to figure out the rest of it. The joke went
