"It kinda stunted Aether's growth, it's sad."

"Yes, you mentioned a projected career as a therapist. Is that a terrible disappointment to the rest of you?"

"We're frankly impressed she made it to adulthood. And she may stay in school, on the grounds that the peal having access to a therapist could be useful."

"Bloody right it would."

"And since she's a Bell there aren't the problems with operational security - and way fewer problems around Bells being cagey - than there would be with anyone else we could procure. But she'll be a few years; she hasn't actually taken courses in therapy, only in being psychic."

"Oh, perish the thought that anybell should have to complete a standard education in something. Can't she cheat?"

"She did cheat, but apparently being Materia-psychic is only weakly amenable to pentagoning. Certainly she'll go faster than standard now she has her speedup and recall and so on. Besides, Glass and Aegis and Amariah all completed locally standard educations for what they were trying to learn before they got the cheat codes. Rose too depending on what you mean by 'standard'. And I am still slightly enrolled in high school because Charlie doesn't want me to be one of those Sunnydale kids who just stops showing up one day, even if I'm ninety-five percent checked out whenever I show up."

He laughs.

"I'm going to be the proud owner of a high school diploma. Aren't I impressive? Nobell else has one. Well, Aether does, if that's the same kinda thing, I don't know about her native education system."

Kisses! [I love you.]

[I love you too,] he says, snuggling her.

[I would not like to be otherwise, I'd probably get all existential about it, it'd be awful.]

[Yes. You are my favorite.]

Snuggles!

Snuggles, snuggles. [The world we got Tab from is super discomfiting. You remember about how Aurum had that problem with the vampire named Chelsea?]

[Not in detail. Something about mind control?]

[Yeah. Chelsea was a witch and she could build up or destroy relationships. The government Golden deposed used her to keep a larger-than-normal people-eating coven together without falling apart, and keep their enemies divided, and collect useful witches, and control the wolves. There's one in Tab's world, and she's stronger and she has better range and the local copy of James used her to take over the world, and Tab, astonishingly, has not assassinated either of them. Her jurisdiction, but it weirds me out.]

[I am sure she has her reasons, although I confess I can't imagine what the hell they are.]

[The Gifts people have there are serious business, it's not just the Chelsea alt who's got major horror potential. I suppose turning everybody into a Care Bear might compete favorably with letting them run amok if people there are particularly prone to running amok. And Aelise - that's the James there - said Chelsa was retired.]

[I think I can see what would tempt a James to take over that world. I'm less sure about the Care Bear part. What does a 'retired' Chelsa look like?]

[They didn't say exactly. I'm sure Tab will explain herself to everyone at the next Bellparty.]