Disclaimer: Erm...I don't own Valdemar or the concept of Heralds and Companions. However, I do own the characters-well, except for a few I co-own with Sena.

This is rather like Senashenta's "Arguing by Yourself." It's basically me and my characters, because I'm writer's blocked (well, except for a few Harry Potter fics, but that's beside the point and I haven't posted 'em yet) and...well...yeah. Besides, some of my characters have been arguing with me.

:Oi, Fireblade, I need to talk with you,: said a voice in my mind as I stared blankly at the computer screen. I turned my head and stared at the rather large white horse that had just materialized in the basement computer room.

"Tess?" I said, disbelievingly.

:That's me,: said the Companion, voice approaching something close to "annoyed." No, wait, more like, "bloodily murderous." :I'd like to know why I've been standing around for...I don't know...over a bloody year?:

I fidgeted slightly in the chair. "Um...because I haven't been writing about you?" I ventured, timidly.

"And what about me?" said another voice, this one slightly accented. I looked over at the bookshelf, and saw a boy leaning against it-arms crossed, sword at his hip, and blue eyes narrowed. "Um, Vaschel," I stammered, "Uh-I'm rewriting your story, I promise-"

:And what about us?: demanded another white not-horse, fiery wings rippling with heat-a bad sign. "Er, Alettea," I said, slowly sinking in my chair, "You're undergoing-"

:One of these so-called rewrites,: snorted the Companion. She did not look amused.

"And us?" said the voice of a woman. She was leaning against her own Companion, arms folded. I stared at her blankly for a moment, then remembered. "Ah, Meira-"I said, "Er...I had this idea for a story, then it sorta flopped-"

"Yes, so now my Companion and I are stuck with some Haighlei village idiots and getting sunburned!" retorted Meira angrily as Zurina snorted agreement.

"And me?" said a voice dryly, from behind the door. Not exactly from choice-large white not-horses tended to block any room they were in. "You dumped me on the Hawkbrothers with my twisted-up emotions. And what kind of name is Keirohan?"

I stared at the Changechild for a moment, but before I could answer, was interrupted.

:You left our Chosen in danger!: said a small white Companion, eyes bright red with fury. I sighed with relief-not because that Edana was looking murderous, but because I had a defense. "Not my fault!" I said, "It's Sena's turn! I wrote the last three chapters! Count 'em, three!"

"And us?" said Jervain, "You lifebonded me to a stranger in the street, dumped me in Healer's, and left both of us to dream tragically of one another!"

"I know point A, and I know point B," I said, defensively, "I just don't know how to get there."

"Well, at least you left us with a fairly happy chapter ending," said Liluye, eyeing the white horses around her. "Um." She backed closer to her shieldmate, Helia.

"And the last they all heard of us was that we're behaving disgustingly sweet and fluffily," said Kamaria, sharply. Alain, her lifebonded, nodded vehemently, and Garethe folded his arms and looked at me.

"Yes, but at least you've been worked with!" bellowed Lee, from the side of her Companion Tess, "I'm playing badly-written comforter to Taliesin, who randomly told me he was shaych!"

I winced. "All right, that was bad, I admit it!" I yelled, raising my voice over the din. I jumped on the table and nearly tripped over Kree, who politely shifted out of the way. "Lee, Tess-"I pointed at the pair-"I'm rewriting your story. Vaschel, Gazali-"

The Shi'na'in and his Companion glared at me, both sets of blue eyes sharp. "I'm rewriting yours too. Keirohan-"

I stopped for a moment, then continued. "I just don't like you anymore. I don't think I liked you in the first place, or maybe I'm just not angsty enough anymore-it's a bad plot, badly-written, and cliché."

The Changechild glared at me. I raised my hands defensively. "Look, that's just the way it is. Alettea, Namyata-"I continued, looking at the winged Companion and her red-haired Chosen, "I've got A and B, just not how to get there. Besides you're undergoing a rewrite. Meira, Zurina, your story will not be very long, when I get around to it. Liluye, Helia-I'm somewhat blocked but you and Kamaria's story are the best-written ones I've got, so I'll keep writing those."

"So am I just going to be scrapped?" demanded Keirohan.

"I...don't know," I said, uncomfortably, "It just seems like your story is more of a chore to write than anything else. I don't want to write it. I like writing about Kamaria and Alain-though I could do with a little more action-and Helia and Liluye and Kree's story have something big coming up."

There was a pause, and angry shouting broke out. I buried my face in my hands. Well, I screwed that one sideways, I thought to myself, sitting down on the desk.

Someone's hand dropped onto my shoulder, and Garethe Chantrea's voice rang out over the confusion. "Leave her be! She's only a high-schooler!"

"You're not supposed to know about that," I pointed out.

"It's outside canon," said Garethe.

"Oh, right."

"You heard her! Most of you are undergoing rewrites and intensive plot evaluations! Admittedly, one story flopped over and died-" Keirohan shot a murderous glare at Garethe-"But keep in mind she's still working."

"Well-said, Garethe," said a firm, female voice, "Stop terrorizing my author, the rest of you."

"Scheherezade!" I yelled happily, jumping up and hugging my muse. "Yes, yes, Fireblade, let me go," said Scheherezade, impatiently. "Get back to your stories, all of you-we have work to do."

"Oh yeah," I muttered sheepishly, looking at my computer screen. "Uh."

The first chapter of Hindsight was pulled up, not to mention LTM's next chapter, Bright Feather's next chapter, the first chapters of Clans and Wings, and for some reason, a popup.

The assembled characters rumbled, in Mindspeech and real speech, as Scheherezade glared at them. "Go back," said a gryphon from behind her as Krathnae materialized, followed by a Karsite priestess, a kyree, a man with a sword, and a red-haired teenager in a robe.

"Thanks for saving my arse," I muttered to my muses as the characters slowly vanished, "It gets crowded in here, especially when they're all mad..."

I realized something as Scheherezade sat down crosslegged on the desk, Chaesa and Jaedre flopped onto the couch, Krathnae turned to face me, and Tiernan sprawled onto the beanbag. "This means I'm going to be writing, aren't I?" I said, slowly.

Nods all around, and I sighed. "What a way to spend my weekend."

"If you said 'waste your weekend,' it'd use alliteration," pointed out Chaesa, which sparked an instant debate about accuracy and effective plot devices.

Slowly, I banged my head against the desk.

Well...um...yeah. That was rather odd. And it is true-I do not like Keiro's story, Shadows of Shadows, anymore. I might be removing it, because I have absolutely no interest in continuing the story. As for Hindsight, Clans, and Wings, they ARE undergoing a rewrite, it's just slow because I don't like rewrites. Anyway...that was my little ramble/rant/thing. Yup.

-Fireblade K'Chona