"So how'd he convince you not to dust him? Vampire, right?"

"He's a vampire, yes. I missed a lot. He returned my crossbow bolts all tied up in ribbon, left on my doorstep, and got surprised by my sneaky porch lights. Then the next time I saw him he was breaking into a butcher shop for animal blood. And he gave me his ultraviolet laser pointer and offered to be my bodyguard. I put him on probation, and he didn't try to eat me. Then later I found out that another of me was dating another of him - the girl one, who is not a vampire, but still. It went from there."

"That's kind of adorable," says Val. "In a very, like, Slayer way."

"Isn't it just? Although if you want high-octane adorable you want his alt and the alt who's dating her, they're cute enough to give marshmallow peeps diabetes."

Val sporfles.

"No, seriously, look," and Bella illusorily reproduces-in-miniature a scene from one of the Bell parties with the trademark mutual adoring gaze. "That's Shell Bell and that's her girlfriend, look at them, they're just like that all the time."

"I want to hug it," says Val, and she reaches out a tentacle from her hand to curl puffily around the illusion.

Bella laughs. "You would have fun at a Bell party."

"That is also my last name," says Val, "so yes, I totally would."

"It is? Wow," laughs Bella. "We call ourselves that because we are seven Isabellas, five of whom prefer Bella, and one Bell and one Belle and one Campbell."

"That makes sense," says Val.

"Yes, it does. Were you going to go find Ike?"

"Nope, I was putting it off so I didn't have to get off my lazy ass, I'll go do that now," she says, and gets up.

Bella snorts and waits.

She comes back down and reports, "Ike would love to be on your telepathic phone network, but he's busy doing science and doesn't wanna talk right now, I was right that he got distracted."

"I can add him without him being in the room, shall I just do that?"

"Go for it!"

Bella does so. "So, lemme know when you have time to show me around the other dimension, I don't know how you usually get there but I can almost certainly do it more flexibly and faster, and I guess I'll see you then. And if your mom is alarmed or something by my having visited on the basis of her existence please apologize on my behalf?"

"Will do," says Val.

Bella salutes, and says, "Bye," and teleports back to the house that Jarvis is.

"And how did your diplomacy go?"

"Did not actually meet the Sessiaki. Met her two half-human kids, though, had a very friendly chat with the girl one, she has offered to stand in for me if anyone challenges me to single combat, I believe I'll invite her and her brother to the next Bell party. They're going to think on their schedule and brainphone me when it's a good time for them to give me a tour through Siathe." Bella leans her head on Sherlock's shoulder.

He wraps his arm around her shoulders and kisses her forehead. "Well enough, then. Do these people have names?"

"Val and Ike. Didn't get either parents' name. The surname, amusingly enough, is Bell." Snuggles.

Sherlock snorks.