why is there a word for that

[alicornucopia]

Finnah's just arrived at work to open the store for the morning shift; she has her apron on but hasn't put her hair up yet. She lets in the customer who always takes half an angle to determine that he wants four buttercreams, again, and then nips into the back to tend to her hair and check the overnight progress of the rock candy.

This isn't the back.

But that -

No, he's too tall to be Mial, if this is a Mial prank it's a stupidly elaborate one.

"Okay, I give up," she says, "what the hell?"

Comments

[unmarred]

"Sorry, no," says Mark. "He needs something he can't have, and it hurts intolerably."

[middlingalong]

[abeance]

"Are you saying that - ah, hell, Ivan, what did you do."

(Ivan, forbidden to speak, does not reply.)

[unmarred]

"That word is the exact antithesis of the things about Draconic that hurt him, and Draconic won't let him have it. It wasn't even possible to think before someone outside the trap came up with it," says Mark. "And now he's bloody Tantalus."

[thisvorlunatic]

"And," Miles extrapolates, "the more people understand and acknowledge the forbidden vocabulary, the less it feels like eternally starving under a tree full of fruit?"

[unmarred]

"Yes."

[middlingalong]

(Ivan is forbidden to speak but he can send Linya a pen message.)

[isthisart]

Linya reads her pen message.

"Does saying it help?" she inquires.

[unmarred]

"Prediction unclear. Too many factors."

[isthisart]

"Well, I've been filled in on what it means now, to whatever extent that helps."

[unmarred]

"Mm. Miles, I delegate to you the task of finding out."

[thisvorlunatic]

Miles sends Linya a pen message.

What does it in fact mean? I think I was upstairs for most of the context.

[isthisart]

Linya forwards him Ivan's note.

Aurin said Draconic for dragon is "siad" and "shren" is also Draconic and apparently the major dragon-ego-puffing-word for "awesome in a dragon way" is "siaddaki" so I just did the OBVIOUS THING HOW DID NO ONE THINK OF THIS BEFORE so obviously it means awesome in a shren way? And apparently now the world is ending.

[thisvorlunatic]

I think your understanding qualifies as positive if you acknowledge that 'awesome in a shren way' is a coherent concept, Miles pens back. Draconic kind of scares me now.

[isthisart]

It seems to be almost malicious. I acknowledge the coherence of the concept.

[thisvorlunatic]

"Count me and Linya both under correct comprehension," vouches Miles.

"I still hardly know what in fuck is going on," says Stalas.

Miles shows him the pen exchange. Stalas nods. "All right, me too, then."

[first_and_final]

Milo makes plaintive faces at Miles.

[thisvorlunatic]

"You're under bloody interdiction," says Miles, "but here—" He trots over and shows Milo the exchange between himself and Linya.

[first_and_final]

Milo scowls thunderously.

[thisvorlunatic]

"Milo, unsurprisingly, is thoroughly in Mial's court here," says Miles.

[abeance]

"Ah, can I...?"

[thisvorlunatic]

"Sure," says Miles. He shows Jann the messages.

[abeance]

Jann reads them.

"Yeah," he says, "me too."

[unmarred]

Mark continues hugging Mial. "All right?" he murmurs.

[thisvorlunatic]

Mial sniffles and hides his face in Mark's chest and nods.