The Brass Spider (Blink)

[Eckhart_Von_Musel]

The trip from Southpine to Jadenshine had taken Eckhart roughly five days. On the fourth day he had run out of food (again) and he had been running on fumes for the past 17 hours. Finally, on the side of the road, he saw what looked to be a old farmhouse converted into a restaurant. Eckhart read the sign in front of the door.

The Brass Spider Pub

Eckhart's stomach growled. "Oh thank Ansgar, this is exactly what I needed right now. I hope their prices are good." Walking inside, he sat down at the bar and looked around. The building was packed with colorful travelers, each one more outlandish looking than the last. Well, I suppose that's Serendipity for you. I probably stand out simply by looking so normal." Looking at the menu, Eckhart frowned. "A fish sandwich is seven bits? That's outrageous!" Eckhart's coin pouch only had 46 silver bits, and until he could find a decent source of income he needed to make his funds last. The mashed potatoes were only two bits, so he ordered those instead. As he waited for his food he would continue to look around the pub, watching the patrons tell each other stories of their exploits. The sight of people who clearly had very fun, fulfilling lives made Eckhart depressed.

"I bet all of these people are better than I am." Eckhart thought sadly. "I'm probably the least interesting person here."

[Blink]

It was yet again time to put on a face for Kaida, the girl that Jaela followed for reasons unknown to even herself at this point. First it was the kidnapping of Aeizith's new toy, then the return of said girl. Lately it seemed Jaela was more of an errand girl to Kaida than anything else. She wasn't even sure what was going to be happening to the Black-Hearth name now that Emelia was out of the picture.

Shrugging Jaela wrapped her fingers around the handle leading inside the pub named 'The Brass Spider'. The only reason she was even going to drag herself in for the boy she was instructed to keep an eye on. It was pretty easy to find him, and now that she had he was nothing more than ordinary. This target by far one of the most ordinary she had been instructed to follow compared to those in the past. "Here goes nothing" she whispered to herself before pulling on the handle, opening the doorway to a chance for more boredom. However, the moment her face came into view of other patrons it had changed. Smiling from ear to ear she strolled in, winking at some patrons while simpling grinning at others.

Not a single face was familiar in the pub, well except the boy's but she couldn't let him know that. So instead she pulled up a stool at the bar only a few feet away from where her target had decided to sit himself, her back facing him as she placed an order for some ale and bread. Digging in her bag she pulled out her coinpurse and flung a few coins onto the counter at the barkeep to pay for her requests before shoving it back in its rightful place next to her small pouch of sand in the bag. It didn't take more than just a few minutes for her to ease her way into the conversation being held between others at the counter, a story of cattle not flourishing as they had hoped.

"You must scatter primroses on the ground to protect them from the witches. Your herd has most likely been cursed." Jaela's Adelan superstitions taking root as she continued. "It also helps to hang the leg of one of your fallen cows at the entry of the barn to ward off evil spirits." The girl was completely serious with her statements, hoping that the patron would take head to her warnings. Instead the patron simply laughed at Jaela and she mirrored the action, laughing with them as if she had been joking the entire time.

[Eckhart_Von_Musel]

Eckhart sat quietly at the bar, listening to the conversations of other people as he waited for his food. The patron's closest to him were talking about cows, and Eckhart strained to hear the other patrons over him. Finally, his food came. Taking a bite, Eckhart made a face. "These potatoes are cold! I can't believe I payed two bits for this."

Suddenly, a girl plopped down in the seat next to him and began talking to the cow people. Her take on the cow's eating disorder was a lot more interesting than theirs were though, and she was soon claiming that witches were responsible. "Well, this got interesting quickly." he thought with a smile. "This almost makes the shitty food worth it." Eckhart lost it when the girl suggested that a severed cow leg should be placed above the barn door. Trying his hardest to hold back his laughter, he slammed his fist onto the bar and began to double over, grinning madly.

"This girl. This girl is a treasure."

[Blink]

The thump on the bar beside her caused Jaela to turn only to see the boy she was supposed to be falling was smiling wider than she ever thought possible. "You think me mad as well?" By now the barkeep had arrived with her bread and ale. Picking up the cup Jaela took a swig of the drink before setting it back down and taking note at how he had barely even touched his... potatoes? "If you leave food on your plate you are destined to marry an ugly woman."

Honestly, she did not blame him for not having eaten all of them.. they looked mortifying. But, she didn't want to pay too much attention to him at that moment only due to the worry he may catch on to what she was doing. So, turning back towards the men who were talking about their cows Jaela did her best to chime back in. "Laugh it up but don't come crying when the butter witches have ruined your cattle." Those damned butter witches... selfish...greedy...pure evil.

[Eckhart_Von_Musel]

Eckhart's smile faded when the girl's attention focused on him. "Oh shit, here we go. I really should've ignored her." Eckhart looked at the girl apprehensively, fully expecting her to say something condescending towards him- and was taken aback by her commenting on his food instead. As she turned away from him, his smile returned. "Wow, she's fucking nutty. Coming to this bar was the best thing to happen to me all week!"

As the girl started talking about "butter witches",  Eckhart once again struggled to hold back his laughter. Luckily, his laughter got cut short by something hitting the back of his head. "Hey watch-" he started to say, but he stopped himself when he saw the large Yoreiqi woman sitting down in the other seat next to him. "It must have been her wing I felt hit me," He thought nervously. "I'm not going to antagonize her." The woman held up a piece of paper for the bartender to see, and Eckhart's gaze briefly met hers. He quickly turned back to the crazy girl, unaware that the Yoreiqi was now studying him with great interest. Eckhart hoped he could find a way into the conversation his more excitable neighbor was having- "She seems friendly at least. Anything to save me from talking to that winged freak."

"So, these butter witches," Eckhart said, attempting to sound genuinely interested in the girl's lunacy. "Do they make butter? Or do they attack people who make butter?" Eckhart grinned. "Or are they made of butter?"

[Blink]

The elemental had taken notice of the large woman the moment she entered her peripheral, just as she had secretly studied most of the patrons in the bar by now. Her concentration though was broken when the boy began talking to her more. "You see butter witches are... well witches obviously." Jaela was ready to go into a full on elaborate explanation, gesturing with her hands and everything.

"They are greedy. Of course if you own cattle you want yours to be the best in the area right?" She didn't even wait for the boy to respond before continuing. "But what if you could make that possible by channeling the fertility and good health of other cows... other citizens cows." The way she spoke was as if telling a ghost story, getting very into every aspect.  "Then you would have the best cow's in all the lands and everyone else's would wither or go dry."

"This is why it is so important to set up the correct provisions in order to deter such an act." After finishing her story she ripped off a piece of her bread and stuffed it into her mouth, her gaze now deadset on the boy. With her mouth still half full she began talking again, clearly no manners. "There are even ways to expose them for the demons they are. So to answer your question.. no... they are not made of butter." Jaela then made a face at him, looking at him as if he were the crazy one. "Clearly a person made of butter would stand out... simply a waste of resources."

[Eckhart_Von_Musel]

Eckhart laughed out loud this time. "You say that, but I've heard stories of golems made from caramel," he lied, hoping the girl would take his bait. "They say that bakers use them to steal secret recipes from their competition." "Come on, I've bet you've heard of them too. Tell me more about the caramel golems."

Glancing behind him, Eckhart breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the Yoreiqi was now invested in her drink. "Thank god, she's lost interest." Turning back to the girl, he outstretched his hand. "Anyway, my name's Eckhart. Eckhart Von Musel." Eckhart heard a glass shatter behind him, but he ignored it. "What's yours?"

[Blink]

"Caramel golems!" hitting her palm on the bartop Jaela was clearly invested in his topic. "I have never heard of these! I bet they are just as horrid as the butter witches." Mentally Jaela had already begun constructing a list in her mind of ways you could probably defeat them.

Her attention though snapped back into focus as the boy introduced himself. Extending her own hand she shook his, happy to know his real name. Eckhart was clearly better than the cranberry Kaida had described him as. Pulling her arm back Jaela slid out of her stool, handshakes too formal for her.

Taking a few steps back she began introducing herself the same way she always had to anyone. "Jaela Uday..." she paused to bow, outstretching one of her arms while the other was place on her stomach. "... pleased to meet you Eckhart." Her bow just as dramatic as the last and first time she had ever done it.

While she was bowing she noticed a few shards of glass at her feet. Setting her sights on the large woman with wings she stood up straight tilting her head a bit. "Breaking a glass is a good omen." She smiled before heading back to her stool, sliding back onto it and turning back to the boy.

[Eckhart_Von_Musel]

Eckhart blushed profusely when the girl bowed to him. "Nobody's ever treated me like this before." He thought, grinning. "Usually people just write me off. This... feels good." Eckhart laughed. "It's nice to meet you Jaela. Caramel golems are indeed awful, I know a chef who's career was ruined by them." Taking a bite of his potatoes, Eckhart grimaced before continuing. "So, what is it that you do? Are you an adventurer?"

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POV Switch

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Griselda dropped her glass in shock when she heard the boy's last name. Hildegarde had never told her anything about this kid's existence, and Hildegarde told her everything. Mind reeling, she stared at the second Von Musel in confusion. The girl that he'd been chatting up took notice of her however, and Griselda turned back to the bartender and ordered another glass of ale. If this boy was truly related to Hildegarde, then she didn't want to do anything that may earn his ire. She sat quietly and began to listen to their conversation, eyes focused on her drink.

[Blink]

It was funny how her initial plan was just to study Eckhart from afar, yet here she was in the stool next to him deep in conversation. She was so entranced with his story of caramel golems, sucking her into that gullible world she lived in. It was hard for her not to laugh as she saw him take a bit of those potatoes again, clearly he did not like them. But then he asked her what is was that she did with her life. Anyone else would have paniced at the question, but not Jaela. She had covered and evaded this question many times before, never telling someone who need not know what she did for Kaida.

"I travel a lot... mainly keeping my eye out for rare things." Jaela was well aware of Kaida's game. Just like a dragon hoards and is mesmerized by treasure, Kaida is mesmerized by intriguing abilities. Her method though has changed since the falling of the citadel. No longer does she drag them back to her torture chamber to bring out these abilities, but instead observes them and lets them flourish on their own. Jaela could remember how her time in the chamber went, and how because of it she was able to discover that her earth related abilities expanded far beyond just shaping dirt.

"What is it that you do? Besides try to stomach awful food." She pointedly glanced at his potatoes and then reached for her bread, pulling off another chunk, but this time handing it to the boy.

[Eckhart_Von_Musel]

Eckhart blushed again as Jaela gave her some of her food- growing up poor had been rough, and Eckhart wasn't used to handouts like this. "I probably don't deserve to talk to somebody as nice as she is."

Smiling at his new friend, he began to nibble at the bread. "Well, I'm a healer. I know a few tricks with life magic, mostly basic stuff like growing back cells and clotting blood though. Usually I end up needing to preform surgery on people, my magic isn't really strong enough to heal people all on it's own." Eckhart took another bite of bread. "I know a lot of herbal remedies too, poultices and whatnot."

Eckhart's eyes suddenly widened. "Oh! You like rare things!" He reached under his seat for his backpack and grabbed the golden feather earring he had tied to the strap. He held it up proudly for Jaela to see, grinning. "What do you think of this?"

[Blink]

So badly she wanted to see this boy in action 'healing' someone. She really did not know much of his abilities, only what Kaida had told her. He was described as a boy with the ability to manipulate cells, but lost in the delusion that this was healing magic. How Kaida had an eye for these things she would never know, it was almost as if she just knew by looking at someones abilities one time that she could figure it all out.

The bit of knowing herbal remedies and poultices did bore her though. "Doesn't everybody.." the thought trapped within the confines of her mind. But then they boy did something that nearly knocked her off of her stool. He started with stating that she liked rare things, clearly her clouded message had gotten past him. She stated that she 'kept an eye out' for rare things. This alone made her snicker... until he pulled out the earring.

Immediately she found herself trying not to bust out in a full on hysterical fit. So that was what happened to her earring! Kaida had mentioned she lost it in a deadly battle, but this... this was priceless. The amusement was clear in her face as Jaela scooted to the end of her stool towards the boy, eager to learn the true story. "How pretty! How on earth did you come across something like that!" She pretended to be completely invested in the earring when in all reality she was more invested in the story behind it.

[Eckhart_Von_Musel]

Eckhart smiled even wider when he saw Jaela was interested in the earring. "Oh, this is a great story," he began. "So, I was walking to Jadenshine, right? And there was a cranberry bog, so I stopped and ate some of them. They're nasty by the way, never eat cranberries. Then this vampire shows up, and starts talking about how she wanted to drown me." Eckhart paused to take another bite of bread. "So I left, because fuck that shit," he said with his mouth full. Swallowing, he continued. "But she started stalking me, then she attacked me."

Reliving these memories made Eckhart smile. "What did she call herself? Something Black-heart, I think. First she tried attacking me with clones, but they just exploded before they could even touch me! Then she grabbed me and tried to destroy my cells, but I just regrew them. Then, since she was so close, I cut her with this!" Eckhart pulled his scalpel up proudly to show Jaela. "That's how her earring fell off, she dodged me right in the nick of time. I only cut her cheek."

Eckhart took another bite of bread. When he had finished, he continued once more. "So, the girl freaks, like, she's totally upset that I even managed to hurt her. She looks an me and says;" Eckhart cleared his throat before speaking in what he hoped was a passable impression of the girl he met. "How dare you! I'm totally not running away because I'm losing, I swear I'll be back someday!" Eckhart began laughing. "And then she just leaves! Crazy huh?"

[Blink]

Once again Jaela found herself battling from bursting out into a full on hysterical fit when he called Kaida a vampire. But the story itself was amusing beyond anything she could have ever conjured up. Even his impression of her was pretty believable, along the lines of something she would totally say.

"Are you sure it was Black-Heart?" She paused to allow for a dramatic moment of tension as she pretended to be thinking. "It sounds awefully close to Black-Hearth" and then the story telling time was on as Jaela tried to hint at what the boy had actually encountered. "You see there is this family of dragons named the Black-Hearth. I think there are four or five of them.. I can never remember." She pretended to think even further as if recalling some enchanting tale she herself was told at one point.

"There was this older one... Emily maybe? But I heard through the grapevine that something happened to her. There was another older than her that apparently that had the ability to control peoples emotions. Like.. he could make a sad person happy and a mad person content. Then another who apparently had earth magic abilities, but she likes humans so I am told." Jaela took a bight of her bit of bread before continuing. "I think that leaves the two youngest ones. The boy... Aeizith Black-Hearth. I know his name only because his story is stuff of legends. He was apparently turned into a vampire!" Taking yet another bight of her bread she then washed it down with some of her ale.

"So now there is a half dragon half vampire ice slinging monster out there somewhere... creepy huh?" She allowed for another dramatic pause before getting at Kaida, the one that would hopefully strike at his memory. "The youngest though is Kaida Black-Hearth. A human hating pipsqueak. But don't let her size fool you!" By now Jaela had gone into a full on explanation of Kaida, as if telling a horror story. "That little girl packs a punch. I heard her abilities are based around the mortal senses.. ya know... sight, touch, sound, taste.. etc. But the best indicator that you have come across a Black-Hearth sibling is by how they look. All of them with white hair and skin that is... porcelain. Like if you hit them its going to crack like a window!"

Kaida then dramatically imitated a sound of shattering glass, a failed attempt to say the least. "But maybe you are right. This girl was probably just a vampire."

[Eckhart_Von_Musel]

Eckhart's eyes widened in shock. "That's why she didn't burn in the sun! That's why she could fly! Holy shit, it all makes sense! I fought a dragon!" He looked at Jaela with a worried expression on his face. "Yeah, I uh, though her name was Kayla when she said it. I kinda... clogged my own ears because she was doing some weird reverb thing with her voice. It must have been the youngest one." A look of panic spread across his face. "Are her siblings going to hunt me down now? I don't want to meet a dracolitch, like, ever. Please, please tell me they're not the vengeful types."

Eckhart could feel his heart pounding. "Oh Ansgar, I'm fucked! I'm totally fucked! I never should have left Hyoite!" Eckhart then remembered the look on the young dragons face when her cut her. "Alright Eckhart, chill. She won't tell anybody what happened, she seemed way too proud for that. She's the only one I really need to worry about." Calming himself down, he asked Jaela one more question. "Actually, the youngest one... she won't make good on her promise, right? Like, she's not going to stalk me or anything?"

[Blink]

Jaela almost felt attacked by the onslaught of questions now being thrown at her. Trying her best to answer them without giving anything away Jaela started with the first and worked her way into the next one all with a simple answer.

"No... they won't hunt you down. Last I heard not a single one of them even gets along with the other now that the oldest sister is gone." Sitting up straight on her barstool she took a swig of her ale, already regretting telling the boy the Black-Hearth story. It was getting harder and harder for her to speak as if she did not know each of them on a personal level.

"But I could be wrong... who knows." she shrugged letting her eyes dramatically scan the tavern. "She could have someone in here watching you right now." Jaela said it as if it were some kind of joke.. like something like that could never even be plausible.

"Do you see any white haired porcelain faced freaks?"

[Eckhart_Von_Musel]

Eckhart managed to calm himself down, but he'd be lying if he said he wasn't still nervous. "No, I don't see any," he finally said, worriedly playing with his necklace. "Why would she even want me watched though? If she's a dragon, couldn't she just kill me?" Eckhart shook his head. "Come on man, Jaela's probably just trying to scare me at this point. I should find a library soon, do my own research on these dragons." He frowned. "Yeah, because that's the kind of thing the library has. I can't imagine a family of dragons would want a book about them to exist, nothing widely published anyway. That's just asking for trouble."

Eckhart sighed. "Thanks for telling me Jaela, It's good knowing what I'm up against- even if it's scary." Pausing for a moment, he stared blankly into space for a few seconds. Abruptly, he continued. "If push comes to shove, I suppose I could always find my big sister. She's... a tough one." A wave of emotions rushed through Eckhart, some positive, some negative, but all of them leaving him feeling empty. "If anybody could defeat a dragon, it's her. Hildegarde always finds a way to make things work out in her favor." "No matter what it means for anybody else." he added to himself.

"Alright, I can't think about this right now, time to change the subject." Putting on a smile, Eckhart looked at Jaela intently. "So, have you found anything rare recently? Can I see?"

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POV Switch

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Griselda's eyes widened. If Eckhart had truly angered a family of dragons, then Hildegarde needed to know about it. She didn't want to leave Hildegarde's brother alone with that pink haired woman however, as she feared that might be dangerous for the boy. Growing up on the streets of Zantaric had taught Griselda how to spot somebody with bad intentions- and while this Jaela girl didn't seem malicious, something about her was very, very wrong. The way she just so happened to know about the person who attacked the boy seemed too coincidental, and her tone of voice while speaking about Eckhart being watched set off alarm bells in Griselda's head. Ordering another drink, she'd continue to keep an eye on the boy and his new "friend"- if it became clear that this woman was not who she claimed to be, Griselda would step in.

[Blink]

Jaela shrugged at his question on why Kaida would want him followed. That was a question she could not answer without blowing her cover. She was then relieved when he thanked her for the information, happy to know he had moved on from the subject. "No problem" she smiled turning her head to look around the tavern, but not for long as he was once again talking to her.

"You have a sister?" She asked curiously, not aware the boy even had a family. I guess that was why she was following him in the first place, to get more intel on him. More curious on his statement of having a sister Jaela simply shrugged off his question of finding anything interesting. Of course she couldn't just flat out say that "I'm staring at it right now" because that would just make things more complicated than they needed to be...

Maybe if she was lucky he could deliver some information to send back to Kaida, she was already running the report through her head. "The boy has an odd liking for cold potatoes, or at least that's the only explanation on why he ordered them. He also has a beautiful feather necklace!" *wink wink*. Shaking her head side to side she knew if she actually said that Kaida would probably strike her her right. Probably best to keep that bit to herself for a bit.

But enough of imagining a conversation she had not even had yet, it was time to get down to business. "Is your sister nice?" her question an indirect way to get him talking again. "I wish I had a sister... I was an only child."

[Eckhart_Von_Musel]

Eckhart stared blankly at Jaela. "Is my sister nice?"

Eight Years Ago

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Eckhart ran through the snow towards his sister, a small parcel in his hands. It was her birthday today, and he had gotten her the most amazing gift ever! Upon reaching his sister Eckhart hugged her tightly. Hildegarde laughed and returned the hug, smiling. "Hey Ecks!" she said through her laughter. "What have you got there? Is it for me?" Eckhart nodded, and held the parcel in his outstretched hands. Upon opening it his sister gasped in shock. It had taken months of doing odd jobs for his neighbors and quite a bit of his own personal savings, but Eckhart had managed to save enough money to buy the magic timepiece he'd seen his sister admiring in Hyoite's general store. Tears began to stream down Hildegardes smiling face. "Eckhart... You shouldn't have..." She knelt down and hugged her brother. "You're the best!"

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"Is my sister nice?"

Seven Years Ago

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Eckhart grinned wildly. He had magic, just like Hildegarde did! Eckhart's father ruffled his hair. "Well I'll be! Two magic users in the Von Musel family! It would seem we've been blessed!"

His mother chimed in. "Eckhart, I'm so proud of you! I always knew you were special, and now look at you! Why, you can use those powers to make a name for our family, just like your sister does!"

Blushing, Eckhart turned to his sister- only to see her glowering at him. Why was she mad? Eckhart couldn't understand it, but he did think much of it at the time. He had cause to celebrate after all!

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"Is my sister nice?"

6 Years Ago

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"Eckhart, what do you mean you can't do it?" Hildegarde stood over her brother with her arms crossed. She had brought an injured seal she had found on the beach to him to heal, but Eckhart was having trouble with it's broken flipper.

"Hilda, bones are hard to -"

Cutting him off, his sister spoke with a disapproving, almost mocking tone. "Hard to what? The poor thing needs your help, just fix it!"

Eckhart looked up at his sister, tears welling up in his eyes. "I-I can't."

Scoffing, his sister dug in deeper. "Then you're pathetic. I've met healers your age who can mend bones in a second, and your telling me you can't? That's absolutely worthless." With that she walked away, leaving Eckhart alone with the seal and his tears

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"Is my sister nice?"

Five Years Ago

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Everything had changed that night. Hildegarde had apparently snapped and tried to kill somebody, and Eckhart's parents had completely disowned her. Eckhart was angry, hurt, and confused, but he couldn't let her leave by herself. So, backpack in hand, he ran through the snow in the direction his sister had ran off in. Finally catching up to her, he called out to her. "Hilda, wait!" Stopping in front of her, he tried to hold her hand only to have his own slapped away. "H-hilda, let me come with you. I don't care where you go, or what you become... I just don't want you to be alone." Eckhart looked into Hildegarde's eyes, but he didn't recognize them anymore- as if they belonged to a different person.

Hildegarde's mouth curled into a sneer. "And why would I want you to come with me?" she spat. "You're useless."

Eckhart began to cry. "N-no I'm n-n-not! I know how to heal s-some injuries, and Mom and Dad say-"

Hildegarde laughed cruelly. "Mom and Dad? Eckhart, you've spent your entire life in my shadow. It's like you're some little parasite trying to leech off my success. You will never have what I had with Mom and Dad. You're too weak to make it happen by yourself.  Stop following me, I never want to see your sniveling face again.".

Eckhart fell to his knees, now sobbing uncontrollably. "P-please, y-you d-don't mean t-that, right? R-right?" He looked up, but his sister was already gone.

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"Is my sister nice?" Eckhart wasn't sure how to answer that. Finally, after half a minute, he finally answered.

"I'm not sure anymore. I'd like to believe she is, but..." he trailed off. Another couple of seconds passed, after which he looked Jaela in the eyes. There was no joviality in his gaze, only pain. "I'm really sorry, but I can't do this. Can we talk about something else?"