Chapter 1-5, Book One: Dairnikkindo and Biemnyon

“Biemon!  What are you-”  Dairnikkindo’s voice was a hiss against the night air.  “Did you do enough last year?  You’re going to get expelled!”

“You know I’m not going to, Dairdo-dairkin,” Biemnyon teased.  He was making no attempt to lower his voice.  “I have the best grades in the school right now.  And I won the Mechanics competition just a week ago.  I think I’m entitled to a little fun.”

“A little fun, sure.”  Tired of craning her neck, Dairnikkindo swung herself up to a second-story window frame to look up at Biemnyon.  Ever since he’d pulled his stunt last year, he’d been incorrigible, irrepressible, and absolutely without any concern in the world for his future.

Since he’d thrice asked Dairnikkindo to share that future with him, she thought perhaps he might have some thought for it, but no, he was climbing the Philosophy Tower.  Again.
And what was more, she realized, as she squinted into the moonlight at him, he was using one of her Devices to do it.

“You might have won the Mechanics competition,” she hissed, “but we both know why.”

“You know that they’d say you were a sore loser, too, if you said anything.”

“Biemnyon.”  Dairnikkindo stood up on the narrow ledge, her own Device gripping the stone carefully.  “I would think very carefully about what you just said.  If you truly think that that is why I said nothing, then you have no right to ever again ask me to add your name to mine.”

She was furious, and she knew that it showed in her voice.  She didn’t care.  The nerve of that man!

And just like that, he slid halfway down the building, so he could look down at her.  “You’ve turned me down three times, Dairdo.  Three times, that’s one for each god.  Common wisdom says that if you say no in the face of all the gods, that you’ll never say yes.”

“Well, considering you’ve never paid much attention to common wisdom in any other situation, I don’t know why you’re bothering now.  Biemnyon, I have said no because you have not yet shown me what you want a future to look like.”  She dropped down to the ground in two bumps, moving like a spider against the wall.  “When you figure it out, let me know – and then you can ask me in the face of all three gods, and you can see what I say then.”

She walked away before she could look at his face, before she could turn and take it all back or yell at him some more.  He was going to have to grow up eventually – or he was going to have to be a perpetual child, but without her.  She didn’t know, yet, which was more likely; she didn’t know yet what she’d do if he chose not to grow up.

Hanging him by his toes from the top of the Engineering Tower, though, definitely was starting to look appealing.

So Solace went and gave me two Books of all the characters, and thus is getting all the Edally ficlets ever. 

This one takes place when Taikie’s parents are still in school.