Yay! Part 130!!!
“Curly-haired shepherd.”
Now why would he be thinking about Bade while having sex with Desin? Did I miss something?
The two of you have been too close too long for him to let go now.
Thank you!!!!! I told you that Hitari was making more sense than anyone at the moment!!
The Wanderer would turn his back on the Maiden forever before he and Anosanim would let go of each other.
Hmph. Glad he's not gone off the deep end. Now all he has to do is talk to his brother. Poor Anosanim... Of course Talin wants a little independence, it's normal, but it doesn't mean he's never going to speak to you again! You'll always be twins, no matter what happens in either of your lives!!!
“I’m not in the throes of abysmal depression,” Anosukinom said, as if he’d suggested anything of the sort.
Only Kudorin...
Okay, explain me this... would Xio Voe not be upset if one of his family members were really sad? Wait, don't answer that. Xio Voe still has no emotions.
“But when they’re unhappy, you don’t care?”
No, he didn’t. “Their emotions are theirs to manage, not mine.”
Ugh!!! *smacks him* I don't have siblings but when someone I care about is upset I tend to be devastated! Granted, I'm a cialex, and an overemotional one at that, but can't he just... can't anyone fix him?!
Well, either Matthew read my mind or I read Matthew's... Anosukinom is angry! Yay!!!
Xio Voe studied the fire that had suddenly erupted in the center of the table.
Yikes... remind me to never anger him. Never. Ever. Okay? Okay.
Sexy, though!!!!

“I do not place upon all older siblings the responsibility of the welfare of younger siblings. But, as you are significantly older than yours, and since you are even now grooming them for their roles in your government, it is your responsibility to be a good influence, a good mentor, and a good role model. You have failed in that responsibility, Xio Voe, failed very badly.”
I have the distinct feeling that Xio Voe will not welcome that. But it's true! How do you teach someone without loving them??
You didn’t take the time. You didn’t bother. You treat them not as individuals, not as family, not as unique people with their own tastes, desires, interests, and minds. You treat them as your parents treated you, as titles, as roles, as miniature versions of the adults they’ll eventually grow up to be. But they’re not there yet!
And now, for some reason, I'm thinking of Aragorn. Don't ask me why, I just am.
I still have no idea how he's 'exempt' from showing emotions... I don't think I'd be able to live that way. My life would have no meaning, no depth, nothing.
And whoa... it's been a very very *very* long time since I encountered a word and honestly had to think about what it meant. Good on you, Matthew!!
Orinakin finds you the most horrific being he’s encountered in his life because of it.
Eeep!! Okay, so maybe Xio Voe was aware of it, but I hope he doesn't use it against him.
I have no time to coddle and comfort my generals.
*smacks him again* I swear I'm going to turn him black and blue if he keeps this up!! Of *course* one should cry at the thought of dead bodies! If it happens once, or even twice, then it can be reigned in next time, at least when he's in public!!!
Xio Voe wouldn't shed a tear at his mother's funeral, would he? Wow, I won't even continue this train of thought.

Did Anosukinom just call Xio Voe a cialex or did I completely imagine that???
who could really look suave beside Remin?
It's Remin. Competing with him is senseless.

I’ve been hasty.
Liz and Sue probably know I'm going to say this... but a nmovie quote comes to mind: "Don't be hasty, Master Merry!". Being hasty, as Anosanim is figuring out now, can lead to a lot of painful things being done and said. Silly silly Anosanim

.
Of course you're not losing Talin for good, you foolish foolish boy! Sometimes it's hard to forget just how young they all are.
Maybe he’d get laid if Norisa took a nap.

How did he not realize that his beloved tiger would take Ehlee's time away from him?
Never mind.

!!!!!!!!!! HA!!!!!!!
“Mouth shoon.”
HA!!!!!!! I tried not to laugh, but that didn't work out.
Whoa... first we were all thinking that Anosanim would break up with Ritek because Ritek said The Thre Words... and now they're thinking about keeping some of their things at each other's houses? Okay, okay, I'm all for moving fast, but I keep remembering Desin's threat about what would happen if Anosanim were to choose Ritek.
“I’m so glad, immeasurably glad, that we kept trying. That we didn’t give up on each other.”
Lizzz! I'm now thinking of 'Twilight'!!!!! Sorry, sorry! I can't keep my mind from conjuring images of something else while I read!
The Anorian criminal code had no physical penalties, no death, no corporal punishment.
I like that. But I do believe that sometimes, corporal punishment, if not the death penalty, should be applied. I'll keep the rest of my thoughts private, at least on this subject. It is true, however, that I don't see Anorians as people who would deserve such punishment. Not for the most part anyway.
He had Anosukinom’s knowledge but a man’s limitations, and it haunted him, how evil could move so smoothly through the land, how people could do such atrocious things to each other.
Never tell him about the Holocaust. He wouldn't be able to handle it.

Or he would, but it'd hurt him more than almost anything else in the world... But one does need to be empathic in order to rule well.
*gasp* Xio Voe is lying. To Anosukinom.
Shis Piek’s reign of terror was more infamous than even he’d imagined it would be.
That sounds familiar.
“feared him. They did not love him. They did not respect him. They did not admire him. There was nothing admirable, nothing honorable, in his actions. He conquered, yes. He ruled. But how great was his reign, if those he ruled over would rather have done without him? He left Morrain a larger territory than he’d found it, but it was in no way better. It took generations to recover and rebuild.”
I'm going to have to go to Wiki for more dtails on that. As soon as such details are available, that is. Because that sounds like the kind of thing I would study.
But I digress.
I respect Xio Voe's desire to invade a nation without shedding blood. Invading a nation isn't something I condone at all, but if it happens, better to do it without killing.
“My greatness will be evident in how Jacacea improves under my reign,”
Cocky, ain't he?
I find you stimulating, challenging, exciting, frustrating, surprising, charming, and irresistibly appealing even at times when I want to grab you with both hands and shake some logic into you.
And the rest of us want to shake some *emotions* into you. *Any* emotions!!!!

*SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEE*
Xio Voe showed an emotion!!!
and a weak shaft of light spilled into the blackness of night. He felt it, a minute fluttering, like the wings of a new moth disturbing the silence of a mine. It was soft, and tender, and small, but real, and rich with meaning.
*pounces*
“Maybe it’s madness.” Xio Voe’s voice was as cool as ever, and when Kudorin opened his eyes, Xio Voe’s expression was thoughtful, Xio Voe’s hand hovering only an inch from his cheek, as if about to caress him. “Maybe it’s weakness. Maybe it’s treason. Maybe someday I’ll regret it all.” Xio Voe’s fingers curled and uncurled, and his expression shifted. Softened. His voice dropped a full octave, becoming hushed as a small, tender smile tugged at his lips, rising into his eyes. “But I do believe that, in a world full of people, you are my favorite.”

*tear tear*!!!!!!!
Matthew!! Thank you!!