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[tragic_mask]

Arriving at the Visitor's Center, Melpomene takes a look around.

"Well, this is it. In all its touristic glory. "

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[mechanicalswans]

"And you," he says. "What is it that you lack, on our journey?"

[tragic_mask]

"A reminder that I'm not alone," she says, not looking at him now, but rather at the cracks in the sidewalk. "That... I have significance, in some way, in more than just the written word."

[mechanicalswans]

"So there we are," he says softly. "The things we are missing fit together nicely. Unstoppable, as I said..."

[tragic_mask]

"Yes."

She finds this a good moment to slip her hand into his, as they walk. It feels right.

[mechanicalswans]

He squeezes her hand, gently.

There doesn't seem to be anything else for him to say--nothing that needs to be said. Just enjoying the silence and her company, as they walk along.

[tragic_mask]

It's a good silence.

After not too long, they reach the parking lot of the hotel, crunching bits of gravel under their feet.

[mechanicalswans]

He chuckles quietly as he looks up at the hotel.

"How are we handling our trip home, then? Driving back? Bothering to check out?"

[tragic_mask]

"Not like we brought much... still, we should probably check out. Unless you want the manager to think we were ghosts." She grins.

[mechanicalswans]

"...you know, that is an appealing idea," he says. "I don't quite feel up to paperwork today. Let's be ghosts."

[tragic_mask]

"All right," she says. "Then we'll have to make a run for it."

[mechanicalswans]

"We're living so dangerously today," he says with a smile, as he pats his pockets for the room key. "I wonder which of us is the bad influence."

[tragic_mask]

Her eyes widen, and she moves to clasp her hands together.

"I blame you for everything. Before you came along, I was innocent as a newborn babe."

[mechanicalswans]

"Never trust a Norseman," he chuckles. "So insidious, with our pillaging and our lutefisk. We corrupt or we destroy. Lucky for you, you're a better target for corruption."

[tragic_mask]

"Thanks," she murmurs. "I appreciate that, I think."

[mechanicalswans]

"Mmmm. I'm not really the active-corruption kind. It happens as a side effect sometimes, but I don't set out to do it."

A pause.

"...well, usually."

[tragic_mask]

"Really," she says, disbelieving, as they cross the parking lot.

[mechanicalswans]

"I'm more interested in my own entertainment than in harming others, usually," he says. "It's only natural."

[tragic_mask]

"That's reassuring."

And then, glancing sideways at him: "I can juggle, you know."

[mechanicalswans]

"Can you, now?" he asks, faintly surprised. "I should like to see that, sometime."

[tragic_mask]

"Oh, yes. And not just oranges and scarves, either. I will show you sometime, if you want."

She grins. "It's one of my lesser known skills."

[mechanicalswans]

"Don't ever give away all your lesser-known skills," he murmurs. "Keep a bit of mystery. But I do want to see you juggle, sometime. If we're ever penniless somewhere and need to perform on the street for money, I think you may have your talent..."

[tragic_mask]

"Trust me, there's plenty of mystery left."

She makes a face. "I hope never to be penniless, at least to the point that juggling is my only hope."

[mechanicalswans]

"But it's good to know you have something to fall back on," he says. "Me, I haven't got many performance abilities."

[tragic_mask]

"Well, you can tango all right," she says with a smile.

[mechanicalswans]

"Mmmm."

He grins. "Not by myself, though. It needs just the right partner for that."