So easy to follow. So easy to obey. Just slip her hand into Ven's and come along.

But.

But but but [i]but.[/i]

"Wait." she says, tugging Ven to a stop beside her.

This isn't a small thing. This isn't a simple thing. This is asking her to put the Kingdom's welfare on hold. To put her [i]girlfriend's [/i]welfare on hold. Two pillars standing against the suggestion of a Witch, where neither would be easy to bend. Both together? Almost impossible.

"We do need to talk to the Sapphire Mother about this before we do anything else. Lifting this curse on me, fighting the Dominion. Even Hell. Our approach to all of that hinges on Her response."

"I understand if you don't want to come with me when I see her" she says, glancing at Ven. "But I don't want any more distractions. Everyone in this whole land seems to be moving in their own directions, pulling at the strings of their own plans and just building a bigger and bigger tangle. Ushua, Agata, The Broken King, Mars. I mean to cut to the middle."

She blinks, as if remembering something.

"Uh, assuming that the date part of this morning is over I mean. I'm always happy to go and eat some dumplings for a bit more if you want Vee?"

[Kalaya refuses the XP - as much as I'd love her to take it, she's got her priorities right now and won't be swayed.]