holy place

[she_sells_seashells]

My alternates tend to take over the world. Advice available. Rates negotiable.

Shell Bell puts up her sign and nibbles her most recent charity meal. Not potatoes! It is not potatoes. Or fish or clams. It is rice and curry and a fruity yogurt drink. That nice person told Bar she could use his tab for four meals, and this is meal number two.

Comments

[alicornucopia]

"Noted."

[seewhathappens]

"The continued sovereignty of my neighbours is a high priority," he adds. "It is my sincere hope that I never again encounter a country so disastrously run that I feel compelled to conquer it for its people's sake; until I heard of Panem, I thought that I never would."

[alicornucopia]

"By all accounts the people of Panem are mostly pleased with this development. District Thirteen, however, has been operating separately since the initial rebellion, and our people are provided for without child sacrifice or vast social stratification of the sort I assume you objected to in Panem. We are not in the market for a regime change and appreciate your understanding of that fact."

[seewhathappens]

"I did object to the child sacrifice. And the mass starvation. Needless suffering offends me. It is good to hear that you don't have that sort of problem."

[alicornucopia]

"Do note, however, that I don't consider you entitled to conduct inspections to check up on our adherence to external standards, and if you tried it would make it clear that you'd be treating us as a colony-in-waiting rather than a real peer."

[seewhathappens]

"I have no intention of conducting inspections," he says.

He refrains from pointing out that the easiest way for him to conduct such an inspection would be to extend his domain over her district and have a look.

[alicornucopia]

"Then it seems we may understand each other."

[seewhathappens]

"Yes."

[alicornucopia]

"Is there anything else you wanted to discuss?"

[seewhathappens]

"Not at the moment."

[alicornucopia]

"Then Tulip will show you out."

Tulip swallows and gets up from the chair she's been perched in this whole time.

[seewhathappens]

Kirovalin follows Tulip.

[alicornucopia]

Tulip leads him back all the way up to the surface and over to where his biome begins.

[seewhathappens]

And off he goes into his biome. The edge is, by this time, very clearly marked by a tangled hedge of berry bushes with occasional gaps.

[alicornucopia]

When he has made some progress into his domain Tulip turns around and goes home.