Page 24 of Guiding Reason

Taros whistled. “I told you she was good. You can’t treat her like a bot you want to dismantle just because she’s a protector, Vin.”

While Taros turned his chair to give the packages a closer examination, Vin leaned back. “I gave her a task that needed doing. The news streams are a Hound-fucking fest of bleakness in case anyone cares.”

Taros let out an excited yelp that had Hyran move with blurring speed and throw his arms around Col, preventing him from reaching for the mug the bot had put in front of him.

“What now?” Vin asked.

Taros lifted a package. “Kashana! It’s from Kashana! Fuck, there’s one for you and for Orrey.”

Col patted Hyran’s forearm. “I really do need that coffee, please, Hyran.”

“Right. Sorry. I just thought…well, you shouldn’t worry. That was very silly of me. You’re safe here.”

“Everyone is quite safe in this building,” the butler bot said, one bot eye aimed at Vin.

Vin stretched out his legs on the couch. “Do you want to open the one addressed to me, Taros?”

“Yes!”

“Will you put on clothes when you spend the night at my place and decide to sit at my kitchen table the morning after?”

Taros wrinkled his nose. “Who are you, Senlas? Why are you all afraid of me putting my naked butt on your furniture?”

“Maybe we aren’t. Maybe we just bring it up to annoy you,” Vin said. Yamara was watching the exchange, observing, not reacting.

“I hate you all.”

“Still want to open that package?”

“I’m sure Orrey would let me open his.”

Vin nodded. “Probably. But unlike me, he might care about what’s in there. You can have what’s in mine if you do pants.”

Taros pouted, going so far as to make his bottom lip tremble. “Fine. You get my ass in combat pants for breakfast. Your fucking loss. This is mine now.”

He cradled the package like a breakable glass sculpture, looking at it lovingly. Then he shifted his finger into a blade and opened the package with precision. Once he had peeled all the wrapping paper back, he yelped all over again and carefully pulled out some garment in tones of green and blue.

“This is from this year’s collection!”

“Is that a scarf?” Col asked.

“Neck robe,” Hyran said.

“Huh?”

The kinetomancer shrugged. “Designer Ogono Kashana calls it his neck robes, because scarfs are decorations, but with a neck robe, you are never naked, even if you wear just it.”

“It and combat pants if you’re in my kitchen,” Vin said.

Taros, the neck robe scarf in hand, gave Hyran an unhappy look. “Do you really have to like fashion? And dislike Guardian Games?”

“I specifically like Kashana,” Hyran said. “There is a really small restaurant here where Designer Ogono started out, tailoring the staff’s uniforms. He still puts on shows there before anyone else gets to see them. He worked there before he launched Kashana and had staff, but the restaurant supported him, so he returns whenever he can. I sometimes catch one of the shows if I’m there at the right time.”

Taros’s mouth fell open, then closed.

Col sipped his coffee as he watched Hyran grin and settle back in his own chair. “I would show any brother of my Conduit that restaurant, of course, but since you mentioned your distrust of Ferrean Guardians, Taros, I wouldn’t want to make you feel uncomfortable.”

“He caught you bare assed, Tar-Tar,” Col said.That was a nice move on Hyran’s part. Well done.