Miles and Temeraire can fight it out over "ownership" Oh, man, it's true, they would! XD What's really funny is that I'm imagining Miles conspicuously arguing that Galeni doesn't belong to anyone and can totally pick and choose, right, Duv? Except that although Miles probably believes that on one level, it's not even slightly how he actually lives his life, so he's really only arguing to make Duv pick him.

Because Gregor would take him seriously, and also be genuinely curious, and I think his sort of quiet honor would remind him of Laurence's, so he would respect him. Plus Gregor could promise him shiny gold things, that's important, too. Exactly, yes. --and now I'm imagining Gregor offering in a very serous voice to make sure that Laurence's awards are extra deliberately shiny, and Temeraire taking him up on it delightedly while Laurence is dying of mortification in the background.

and naturally the whole thing ended up being far stranger It's true! It's kind of like the whole situation with Taura, only more so.

somehow I agree that it feels fitting for Simon to inherit the Cetagandan spacedragon headache... Simon: "Money, power, sex...and spacedragons."