"Etty," says Nona after a moment, "I think some yous have arrived."

"I didn't know they could come in, like that," says Etty. "Huh." It's faster to swan and back than to actually change into her dress; she does that, then kisses Nona apologetically and tiptoes to the staircase.

Nona supposes she should also get dressed. She doesn't feel like it, though, so she just snuggles into her blankets.

"Hello?" says Etty, when she gets down the stairs.

"Oh, good, this is your place, I was worried when the teleport wouldn't go that I'd got the wrong world altogether," says one of the visitors.

The other visitor looks at her a moment longer than would be considered polite in most social circles, and then she averts her eyes. "Hello. I'm Glass, this is Shell Bell."

"I'm Etty." She looks at Glass, and at her naked girlfriend, and says, "Do you need her to put some clothes on...?"

"That would be great."

"Yeah," says Shell Bell, looking at the ceiling, "I have seen more naked people than I have wanted to over the last few days."

"You guys met Celo, right? He's going around with magic censor bars on now."

"We did, yes - you met him? And Bella?"

"His Bella's going by Aether, now, since there are a lot of us and a lot of us are called Bella," says Glass. "You can keep 'Etty', no one has anything like it. We can go from world to world more or less whenever we want and there are a lot of us and we're here to collect you, since Aether told us about you."

"Oh! How do you do it? Is it more otherworldly magic?"

"Not exactly, but the thing it is instead is hard to explain if you're from a low-tech magicky world - is Nona going to get clothes or is she just not interested in talking to us if she has to wear clothes?"

"I'm not sure. Celo spent a lot of the time away and Bella - Aether? - was able to relay what he was saying, can you do that?"

[Sort of. Hi, Nona.]

[Hello!] says Nona. [This is interesting. What are you doing?]

[This is called the brainphone. We have a lot of magic and we're here to give it to Etty.]

[I hope it's nicer than the kind I have here.]

[Oh, much, the kind here is gross and you won't even be able to do it outside of your world - the ongoing effects will be stable but casting spells will only work here.]

[Strange,] says Nona. [Does that mean no more skinning my hand to stay young?]

[Well, you could do it recreationally or for other reasons, but it will not be necessary for staying young.]

(Shell Bell shudders.)