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Angus McDonald is a lot of things. Oblivious is not one of them.
In fact, one could make the argument that he’s the opposite of oblivious, that he’s insightful, that he’s observant. One could make the argument that he’s hypervigilant and one would probably be right, but that’s hardly the point. The point is Taako’s been acting strange lately. Stranger than usual, which is already pretty dang strange. An incomplete list of aberrations in behavior includes canceling magic lessons, going down to the planet when not on missions, whispering on his stone before breaking out in those high-pitched and speedy giggles that Angus has figured out is Taako’s actual laugh.
He’s even been spending more time in the kitchen, and Angus knows that’s not nothing. After his mentor talked about not wanting to cook for people he cared about and warning Angus against using transmutation magic in cooking, Angus did some digging as he’s wont to do. He’s unconvinced by the news reports about Glamour Springs. Taako doesn’t mess up his spells like that. Angus just knows it. His bet’s on foul play.
But that incident itself is, again, hardly the point. The point is that Taako used to stride into lessons late with Fantasy Starbucks in hand. The point is that he forgot about lessons once or twice -- and that’s charitable, because the other option is he just didn’t feel like showing up, and Angus wouldn’t really put that past him, though he hopes it’s not true. The point is that Taako knocked on his door at six o’clock last night with his ears perked high and his cheeks red and that giggle threatening to break through his voice and told him magic lessons were canceled the next day. That kind of courtesy from Taako means something’s up. Angus McDonald intends to find out what.
T INVESTIGATION PLAN
investigate dorm for clues -- may require Carey’s help to get in
interview Magnus and Merle; maybe a good time to practice ZOT?
ask Madame Director for transport logs
ask Avi for transport logs when Madame Director won’t hand them over
follow T planetside if necessary for reconasince reconnaissance
there will probably need to be more steps
T is an enigma
DAY ONE: INVESTIGATE
Angus wakes up bright and early. He’s not entirely sure why (aside from routine,) because it’s not like Taako is ever up early. He even doesn’t leave his dorm until noon at the earliest. One time Angus saw him leaving the cafeteria at 11:30 and he looked angrier than Angus had ever seen him, Magnus’s arm thrown over his shoulder in a way that Angus assumes means he’d dragged him out for breakfast.
But it gives him time to cheat his way into the reclaimers’ dorm common room, let in by a groggy Magnus, who starts absently carving a wooden duck as they enter the room despite Angus’s protests that he looks far too sleepy to be handling a knife that big. Magnus waves his hand -- well, he waves the knife -- dismissively. “Don’t worry about it,” he says with a wink.
Angus keeps worrying about it, but what’s he gonna do? He’s here on a mission. He and Magnus chat for a little while and he tries to put step 2 in action just a little bit without making anything obvious. That’s pretty easy when it comes to Magnus.
“Has Taako seemed weird to you lately, sir?” he asks innocently, fiddling with the handle of a mug of tea too hot for him to drink.
“Taako’s always weird,” Magnus says without looking up, fixated intently on the duck’s beak. “He’s a weird guy. You’ve met him.”
“Well, right, but weirder, you know? Or different weird. Since you got back from Refuge?”
At that Magnus looks slightly uncomfortable, shrugging and setting the knife down. Angus fears he’s made a mistake. He’s not really privy to most of the details of the reclaimers’ missions. He knows what he hears over his stone of farspeech (which in this case was absolutely nothing) and what he learns before they leave during his relic research. This one did seem like a big deal, but the gravity that suddenly fills the room makes Angus realize it may have been a bigger deal than he thought. “Refuge was kind of… a lot,” Magnus says, trying to keep his voice lighthearted and evidently unsure of how to describe things. Or unwilling to.
Being an eleven-year-old detective has some benefits -- after all, everybody underestimates you if you’re a kid -- but then, everybody underestimates you if you’re a kid. He can take hearing whatever they went through. He won’t press, though. He doesn’t want to seem suspicious. Besides, as much as he’s curious as to what Magnus is uncomfortable about, that’s not why he’s here.
“Okay,” Angus says, chancing a sip and burning his tongue. He makes a face that Magnus chuckles at. “I was just wondering because he’s been canceling our lessons lately.”
“Oh, what, no, Ango, don’t worry. He’s not mad or anything.”
Angus frowns. “Well, I wasn’t worried about that,” he says.
“Are you worried about it now? Shit. Sorry.”
“No, no… I don’t think it’s that.”
“Yeah, it’s not that!” Magnus says, losing control of his volume a little bit in his attempt to reassure Angus. There’s a thunk on the inner side of Taako’s bedroom door followed by some high-pitched swearing and cursing Magnus’s name for waking him up. “Aw, shut up, Taako,” Magnus fires back. “Stop throwing your shoes at doors, you keep scuffing them.”
“I’ll scuff your face,” comes through, muffled but clearly irritated.
Angus stands up from the table. “Magnus, can you do me a favor and not tell Taako I’m here?” he asks softly. Magnus raises an eyebrow. “He stole one of my Caleb Cleveland books and I’m trying to break into his room to get it back because I think he might be trying to teach me how to steal? I don’t know why else he’d take it.”
That’s not entirely fabricated. He is pretty sure Taako is trying to coax him into a life of crime.
Magnus looks absolutely delighted at the idea of a heist, though. “Oh, yeah, sure,” he stage whispers. “Yeah, uh, he’ll probably come out to get an energy drink in a minute and then I think he’s going shopping so you should have… at least two hours. Hide in the bathroom until he’s gone, he’ll just think Merle’s hogging the shower.”
“Where is Merle?” Angus asks, mostly concerned about a hole in the alibi.
“He said something about getting breakfast planetside,” Magnus says with a shrug. “He had his shirt buttoned all the way up so I didn’t ask where he was going, I figure that means it’s important? Or something? I don’t know, I’ve never seen so little of his chest hair.”
Angus nods thoughtfully -- he must be going down to see his kids. Angus takes a mental note that Magnus doesn’t seem to know about that.
Before long there’s footsteps headed towards Taako’s door and Angus grabs his mug and bolts to the bathroom, running the shower for added realism. “Morning!” he hears Magnus say.
“Shut up,” he hears Taako reply.
“Okay,” Magnus agrees good-naturedly, though Angus can hear a giggle in his voice. He hopes it doesn’t give anything away. There’s some general Taako complaining and Magnus absently humming assent for a few minutes before the front door opens and closes and Magnus comes to knock on the bathroom door. “All clear, kid!”
Angus turns off the faucet and steps out looking determined. “Thank you very much for your help, sir!”
“Yeah, no problem,” Magnus says, reaching down to steal Angus’s cap. He’s pretty sure at this point it’s a gesture of affection so he doesn’t complain. He walks towards Taako’s room, which is of course locked, but what kind of wizard-detective doesn’t know Knock? He enters easily, unable to keep himself from wrinkling his nose slightly at the state of the room. There are clothes, shoes, and accessories scattered all over the place, not to mention numerous books -- some of them cookbooks, some of them spellbooks, and at least one trashy romance novel that Angus pretends he doesn’t see. Gross.
“What a goddamn mess,” he sighs slightly under his breath before rolling up his shirtsleeves to look around. He doesn’t exactly know what out of the ordinary would look like in here, but he assumes he’ll know it when he sees it. He picks through the laundry scattered around -- a fuschia turtleneck with a heart cut-out, an intensely glittery binder, a pair of black short shorts that read “GERBLIN” across the back in what Angus thinks is glow-in-the-dark print -- and finds nothing of interest. He rummages through the contents of Taako’s desk, where he finds several scribbled recipes, half of which have numerous things crossed out and altered. He combs the room thoroughly and finds very little of interest, which he’s about to be incredibly frustrated by when he sees them: two feathers, inky black, laying on one of the pillows on Taako’s bed. Angus can’t imagine Taako having a bird in here. He guesses they could’ve come from his clothes -- he’s definitely seen Taako wandering the moonbase in a black feather boa -- but he takes note of it anyway.
“You find your book?” Magnus asks, only pausing in his duck carving to look up at Angus.
“Oh, yes, sir!” he says with a fake grin. Magnus looks delighted.
“Fuck yeah,” he says, sounding satisfied. “Hey, did you see a big pink sweater with a dog on it? I think he stole it from me.”
“Nope, didn’t see that one,” Angus replies, making his way quickly to the dorm exit before Magnus realizes he has nothing book-shaped on him.
DAY TWO: INTERVIEW MAGNUS & MERLE
^ Magnus doesn’t know anything!
Angus finds Merle Highchurch in a mostly hidden corner of the quad tending to a leafy plant Angus doesn’t recognize. “Hello, sir,” he says slightly nervously as he approaches, and Merle snaps upright considerably more quickly than he usually moves at the sound before turning around and standing stiffly as if trying to hide the plant from Angus’s sight.
“Ah, fuck,” the dwarf sighs. “What do you want, kid? Money?”
“What?”
“You’re here about that, uh, solo mission from the other day, right? You’ve been spending time with Taako, I figure he’s been teaching you how to swindle.”
“What? No, sir, not at all,” Angus says, mildly scandalized at the assumption that he would try to blackmail someone. (Not that Taako hasn’t suggested it on various occasions.) “No, I actually--”
“No, no, don’t play your little games with me,” Merle says, adjusting his Fantasy Coke-bottle glasses and squinting at Angus. “What do you want?”
“I wanted to talk to you? About Taako, actually?” he says. Angus is insightful and he’s pretty sure Merle doesn’t hate him as much as he seems to, but it’s still a lot to take in. “Has he been acting weird lately?”
Merle blinks, furrowing his brow. “Taako’s always weird,” he says.
“Well, I know, that’s what Magnus said, too, but--”
“Weird how?” he asks, cutting Angus off with a sigh. Angus blinks, caught off-guard by the actual interest in what he’s saying.
“Well… he’s been canceling our lessons,” he offers.
“You ever consider he’s just unreliable?”
“Yes. But he’s also been taking bubbles down and talking on his stone and--”
“Listen, I don’t really know what you want me to tell you,” Merle says. “He’s kind of a flighty guy, you know? It’s not like he tells me or the big guy what’s goin’ on in that head of his.”
Angus frowns. “Okay,” he says reluctantly. “Well… okay, I guess, sir. Thank you for your help.”
“No problem,” Merle replies gruffly. Angus is about to turn and walk away when Merle sighs again. “Listen. I don’t know what’s goin’ on with him, but if you ask me it looks like a good thing. That’s all I can tell ya. Little shit won’t stop wakin’ me up at 3AM giggling from his room. Usually it’s… well, uh, not giggles.”
“Okay,” Angus says again, looking at least a little less disappointed, although that last part has him concerned. “Well, that’s good. Thank you for your help, sir!”
“Whatever.”
DAY THREE: FIND TRAVEL DETAILS
Angus spends a reasonable amount of time in Madame Director’s company. She’s kinder to him than the reclaimers are, and incredibly encouraging of his hard work. She’s always calm, too, and she makes good tea. She can be awfully serious, though. He’s not expecting a great deal of help with this. It doesn’t seem very important compared to the grand scheme of the Bureau’s mission.
He walks into the throne room where she sits with a heavy tome in her lap and her white oak staff clutched in her hand. She smiles softly when she looks up and sees him, though he can catch the tail end of a considerably grimmer expression as she moves. “Good morning, Angus,” she says smoothly and closes the book with a thud. “Can I help you with something?”
“Hopefully, ma’am!” he says as he approaches her. “I’ve been concerned about the behavior of one of the Bureau’s employees.”
The Director furrows her brow slightly. “Concerned? About whom?”
“Well, um… Taako, ma’am! He’s been--”
“Canceling your magic lessons,” she finishes for him. Angus blinks, slightly confused. “And taking an increased amount of trips to the surface.”
“Um… yes! That’s right!”
“What can I do to alleviate your concerns?” she asks. She sets the book down on a table near her throne and stands up, leaning on her staff.
“Well, I was hoping to find out about where he’s been going,” he says eagerly, pleased that she seems to be cooperative, even concerned herself. That means he’s not the only one noticing things. He’s used to being the only one noticing things, but it’s always a relief to not be alone. “Do you or Avi keep records of where the spheres go?”
“Yes, that’s all well-documented in case someone goes rogue.”
“If it’s okay, could I take a look at Taako’s? If I can plot out some points I might have a better idea of what’s going on.”
The Director nods. She clears her throat and returns to the table, where she speaks into a small box on the table. “Avi, please report to the Director’s office with travel records for the last…” she trails off slightly and glances at Angus.
“Two weeks?” he tries.
“Two weeks.” She stops the broadcast and sits back down. “There. He should be in in a moment, Angus, please feel free to wait here.”
“Thank you, ma’am!” he beams.
“And… let me know what you find out,” she adds, her expression soft and slightly vague. Angus can’t get a read on the Director, exactly, but he knows she cares more about her employees than she wants anyone to think. She seems to have a soft spot for the reclaimers in particular.
She picks the book up again and resumes what Angus assumes is research on the next relic. He waits for a few moments before Avi walks in, grinning lazily with a few scrolls tucked under his arm. “Hey, Director,” he says. “Hey, Angus. What’s up?”
“Mr. McDonald is looking into a confidential matter for us,” she says without looking up. “He needs to look through the records of one of our employees. Who did you say, Mr. McDonald?”
“Um, Taako!” he says, smiling up at Avi, a little confused by her feigned distance and uncertainty.
“Yeah, he’s been out a lot lately, huh?” Avi says thoughtfully. He walks to one of the side tables in the room and sets down the scrolls, unfurling them to look at times and places until he finds what he’s looking for. “Here we go, Taako, no last name.”
The Director coughs from the throne and they both glance over at her, but she says nothing.
“Looks like he’s been spending a lot of his time in Neverwinter, I think. He lands a little bit outside of town and requests pickup at the same spot.” Avi pauses and furrows his brow. “Actually, he doesn’t always request pickup, now that I’m looking at it.”
“If he doesn’t request pickup, then how is he getting back here?” Angus asks. “I didn’t realize we had other forms of travel.”
“We don’t,” Avi says, shaking his head. “Madame D, aren’t there wards against teleportation magic?”
When the two of them turn around she has her mismatched eyes locked on them, her brow furrowed. “Yes,” she says after a moment. “Yes, there are. It would take very powerful arcana to get past them.”
“Well, Taako’s a powerful wizard,” Angus offers. A ghost of a laugh crosses her face before she returns too looking serious.
“You’re right about that, Mr. McDonald,” she says. “I… trust Taako, but the matter requires further investigation. Would you be willing--”
“I’ve been planning to tail him,” he offers eagerly.
“That’s perfect,” she says solemnly. “Avi, next time Taako takes a trip to the surface please inform Mr. McDonald and provide him transport as well. Cloaked, preferably.”
“You got it, boss,” Avi says. He scoops the scrolls back under his arms. “I’ll give you a call, Angus!”
He makes his exit and Angus prepares to as well, but before he gets far Madame Director speaks from the throne. “Angus?”
“Yes, ma’am?”
She hesitates. “Thank you for keeping an eye on those three.”
“Oh,” he says, surprised. “Um, of course!”
“It means more than you know.” She pauses. “Very well. You’re dismissed.”
He leaves the throne room more concerned than he was when he entered it, but at least, he thinks, with something like a lead.
DAY FOUR: TRACK THE TARGET
Angus gets Avi’s call the next day in the early evening. More specifically, Avi calls him as Taako’s approaching. Taako doesn’t seem to notice the transmission, so Angus overhears:
“Hey, what’s up, Avi.”
“Not much, Taako! How’s your day?”
“Yeah, yeah.” Angus frowns. Taako sounds distracted. “Listen, I have some, uh, business to attend to--”
“Neverwinter again?”
“Yeah.”
“Sure thing, bud.”
Angus can hear the machinery whirring as Taako makes his way into the ball and the cannon prepares to fire. He quickly pulls on his shoes and makes his way to the launch deck. By the time he’s there the sphere is gone but the cannon is still smoking. “Hello, sir!” he chirps up at Avi.
“Hey, there, Angus.” Avi grins. “Got another sphere ready for ya. I’m gonna delay it a minute so he doesn’t hear you land, is that cool? I figure you’ll be able to find him.”
“Yep, that’s fine!” he says excitedly. He’s delighted to be getting to the bottom of things. “He’s not very hard to track.”
“Is anybody hard for you to track?” Avi teases. He opens the door to another bubble and helps Angus into it.
“Not really!”
Angus buckles himself in and waits for the shot. It always makes him a little nervous, so he squeezes his eyes shut tight until he’s been in the air for a few moments. He pulls the lever when it’s time and exhales in relief as he begins to slow to a halt. The sphere touches down reasonably gently and he scrambles to get out as quickly as he can.
The second sphere has already been sent back up, but he can see the impression where it touched the ground. He starts there. There are small holes in the damp ground that Angus recognizes as stiletto footprints. That means whatever Taako’s here for can’t be too serious, at least not in the way his work for the Bureau would be. He doesn’t usually wear stilettos on missions. (When Angus asked why once, seeing that he can be pretty impractical in his other clothing choices, Taako looked sort of far away for a second and said something about a voice at the back of his head telling him he’d break his neck. Then he shrugged it off and pulled the smile Angus has long since figured out means he’s uncomfortable.)
He tracks the prints along the road leading to Neverwinter, but he doesn’t have to follow them for long; Taako isn’t an especially fast mover unless he has to be. Before long Angus can see him standing just outside of the city gates, leaning on his umbrella and looking impatient. Angus hides behind a shrub and peeks through the branches. He watches as Taako pulls out a pocketwatch and frowns down at it. He keeps his eyes locked on his mentor, which means that when a scythe comes tearing through the fabric of the plane he gets an eyeful of it.
His jaw drops. Naturally.
An incredibly handsome man steps out of the rift, dark-skinned and dressed in a well-fitted suit. Angus furrows his brow. He’s far enough back that he can’t hear either of them speaking (although he catches a peal of Taako’s explosive laughter) so he waits for them to turn their backs and move into the city, which they do arm-in-arm. Angus follows after them. He’s still relatively far behind, making it through the gates without much trouble. He follows the two of them to a fancy restaurant and stands outside the window, watching as they’re seated.
Of course, he still can’t hear the two of them, but they look like they’re having a blast. Taako’s umbrella is hooked to the back of his chair and the brim of his hat is pushed back to show off his face, which Angus can tell even from outside is split in a wide, crooked grin. The stranger is smiling too, slightly sheepishly, drinking red wine and looking a little befuddled by the menu.
Angus’s eyes widen as he realizes what’s going on: Taako’s on a date. Angus, of course, has never been on one, but he’s followed enough clients that he’s seen one or two. Things make a lot of sense with that in mind: Taako’s been cheerful because he’s been seeing someone who makes him happy. He’s been on his stone to talk to him. All his little day trips to Neverwinter have presumably also been dates. He’s putting together the arithmetic when Taako glances over towards the window and their eyes lock.
Angus feels his cheeks heat up and sees Taako quickly pull at his hat so it covers slightly more of his face, though they both know it’s too late to hide. The other man follows Taako’s line of sight and blinks almost comically, then waves awkwardly. Angus is about to hightail it out of there before a voice comes through his own stone:
“Pumpkin. Did you follow me down here?”
Angus can’t read Taako’s tone, but he can’t imagine his mentor is pleased. He’s so private, and obviously he hasn’t told anyone about this. Angus swallows nervously.
“Uh, hello, sir. Um. Yes, I might have followed you.”
“Did you or didn’t you?”
“Yes,” Angus replies through a grimace. He looks over his shoulder to see Taako still watching him through the restaurant window.
“Is that--” he hears the other man say, followed by Taako shushing him and waving his hand vaguely in the other’s face. “You should invite him in,” the voice adds gently.
“Oh, no, I really don’t mean to intrude, sirs! I’m so sorry to interru-”
“Agnes,” Taako says with an almost defeated sigh. “Come on in.”
“Sir, I don’t--”
“Angus.”
So Angus walks into the restaurant, holding his cap in his hands and worrying the fabric of it as he makes his way to Taako’s table. Taako’s hat is pulled down even further when he approaches, pushing down on his ears. His company looks, if Angus had to guess, amused.
“Um, hello, sirs,” Angus says shyly, not making eye contact with either of them.
“So you’re the great detective,” the stranger says. Out of the corner of his eye Angus can see he’s smiling, a warm thing that colors his whole face. He looks up slightly to get a better view and take in the details. It looks earnest. “It’s nice to finally meet you, I’ve heard--”
“Nothing,” Taako cuts him off, looking across the table. Angus can’t see his eyes from this angle, but Taako will notice if he cranes his neck, so he doesn’t try.
“Nothing,” the man agrees good-naturedly. “Are you going to introduce me, Taako?”
“No,” he says brusquely, picking up his wine glass and taking a long sip.
“Well, that’s fine, sirs, I really don’t mean to interrupt, I just—”
“No, please, pull up a chair.”
“A chair?” Angus asks weakly, eyes darting towards Taako’s profile to try to glean any information.
“Yeah, I mean, Taako called you in here, I’d call that an invitation.”
“Nope.”
The man laughs and gestures towards a chair. Taako doesn’t stop him, so nervously, Angus pulls it over and sits. Taako sits with his elbows on the table looking pointedly away from both of them now, one hand twirling a curl around his finger almost frantically.
“So,” the stranger says. “My name is Kravitz. It’s wonderful to finally meet you.”
“Wait— Kravitz?” Angus repeats, his eyes going wide. The reclaimers were a little bit in and out during their time in Lucas Miller’s laboratory, but Angus could swear Kravitz was the name of the bounty hunter for the Raven Queen that was on their tail there. And with that scythe, Angus is almost certain it’s the same man, although he sounds considerably less cockney right now.
“Uh. Yes?” he replies, apparently caught off-guard. Both of them glance towards Taako as if hoping for an explanation, but he’s pointedly looking away from either of them and taking a long drink from his wine glass. Kravitz looks back towards Angus and clears his throat. “Why?”
“Well, um, it’s just that a few months ago, sir, a bounty hunter named--”
“Oh,” Kravitz interrupts, suddenly looking bashful again. “Yes. Well. Yes, that was me.”
There’s a long moment of awkward silence before Taako clears his throat. “Garçon,” he calls slightly snappily at a passing waiter. “I’m gonna need another two bottles of whatever wine this is and, uh, uh, the baked brie to start.”
“Right away,” the waiter replies. Once he’s gone, Taako finally exhales and pushes his hat back again, looking between Kravitz and Angus with a hard-to-parse expression on his face.
“Agnes, this is Kravitz,” he says bluntly after a pause. “Kravitz, this is Ango.”
“We already introduced ourselves,” Kravitz says, somewhere between awkward and gentle.
“Yeah, well, now I’m introducing you,” he grumbles under his breath. Taako picks up his wine glasses and swirls it around slightly too quickly for it to be a calm motion, though he’s clearly trying to put up an apathetic front.
“So… you’re a bounty hunter for the Raven Queen,” Angus says, an edge of nerves in his voice -- even an edge of protectiveness. He knows Taako can take care of himself and that he’s an eleven-year-old without much in the way of combat magic, but all the same, it makes him nervous that Taako is on a date with someone who, reasonably recently, tried to kill him. Taako is important to Angus. He’s a mentor and a friend and, okay, sometimes Angus daydreams about what his life would be like if he’d grown up with Taako taking care of him instead of with his grandfather and the old, cold halls of the McDonald manor.
“I am,” Kravitz says, matching the nerves. Angus can’t entirely figure out why. “But I really don’t want you to worry, Angus, Taako and I have talked things out and--”
“I’m immune to death now,” Taako interrupts.
“You’re absolutely not immune to death.”
“Uh huh.” The waiter returns with the wine and Taako pours himself another glass. “It kinda seems like I might be immune to death. How many was it in Refuge? Ten?”
Kravitz exhales. “Eleven,” he admits, making Angus’s eyes widen and snap to look at Taako, who looks remarkably unphased by the apparent repetition of his death. Angus is beginning to understand, at least in part, why the reclaimers have refused to tell him about that trip.
“Immune to death,” Taako repeats somewhat triumphantly, a lazy grin reclaiming its spot on his face.
“So,” Kravitz starts in an obvious attempt to redirect the conversation, “you’re a detective, correct?”
“Yes, sir,” Angus replies, glancing at Taako, who won’t look at him.
“You must be very dedicated, then. I guess that’s how you found us?”
“Um, yes, sir,” he says, tearing his eyes away to focus on Kravitz instead.
“Yeah, remind me to Magic Missile anybody who helped you out with that,” Taako sighs.
“Absolutely not, sir!”
“Well,” Kravitz interrupts Taako gently before the wizard can get another snide comment out. “Angus, if you don’t mind, I’d love to hear about your detective work. Taako tells me you’ve got a truly impressive mind. I bet you could teach me a thing or two.”
Angus’s eyes widen and sparkle with delight. Next to him, Taako grumbles -- Angus thinks it’s something along the lines of “knew you two nerds would get along.”
But Angus McDonald is not oblivious. He’s insightful. And he’s pretty sure there’s fondness in that grumble, too.