“Jackie—” I start to tentatively say before she cuts me off.“Please don’t tell me ‘this isn’t how it looks’. Because it seems pretty c...ear what you got up to after our drink last night. So sorry I kept you from that,” she says, her voice dripping with disdain.“You left the bar. I wasn’t trying to rush anything,” I say back and even I can hear the defensive panic in my voice.This is why I’ve always tried to be honest with people. It was probably short-sighted to think I could keep this thing. Weshould try to test those first, then plan on how to get the throneback, my Lady." I can't simply ride Toor into the Grand Palace?" That's actually a good idea, my Lady. I think, however, we would allagree that it would put you at some risk. But if it worked, you'dunseat the Cumberlings from their main place of power. Then, they'd beforced to fall back into the countryside with their armies." I'm not afraid for myself. My shields seem to form around meautomatically. I'd be more afraid for. "Worse yet," The purely mental 'voice over' resumed."With each maniacal notion shattered, Arin became more frustrated and vengefully cruel.Even to the point he began physical punishing me!Always saying 'it was my stupidity and lack of initiative that was surly killing him!'Rapidly weakening he was finally forced to employ variants of Jurian 'time freeze' technology to simply preserve himself.Gambling he could buy enough time, live long enough to effect a cure!It was sometime during this point. " my words are nervous, but I figure I'd have fun even if this wasn't really going to lead anywhere. "He could be someone in another country, someone you just run into on a business trip, someone to help you get rid of some stress that your work is giving you." Not from work. I can handle work stress... but stress from not getting any dick...." She laughs ever so slightly. I'm glad her voice isn't any louder, because people are walking by, two chubby older ladies, heading for the bar."You'd do.