Isabella is interviewing shades. It's easier to control PR from here - if she doesn't want to send one back to the living, she doesn't have to, and anything they tell their dreaming friends is hearsay twice over with no chance for soundbites or recordkeeping - and they have nearly as much up-to-date information about their worlds, if she picks the right ones. Simultaneously, Jane is feeding her books and news articles and her personal impressions of the things that have gone on recently. (Isabella already planted ansibles in all the other subworlds with Internets for her.)
Amariah laughs and addresses Keth. "So you're up to speed, sounds like, and you're invited to the Bellparty, which I'm thinking of offering to host, except in my afterlife palace so not everyone has to burn coins avoiding daemon acquisition."
Hecate rustles her wings. "'Avoiding daemon acquisition'," says Keth, "there's a phrase you don't expect to hear often. You have an afterlife palace?"
Path tells Hecate, "People who don't have us think it's almost as weird as we think not having us is."
Hecate says, "Was there going to be sex or was Ripper kidding about that?"
Path flutters away from her shoulder, and gazes owlishly at Hecate.
"Can be," she purrs.
Hecate is perched in her customary place on top of a somewhat battered clock. She takes wing and heads for the bedroom; Keth puts down his tea and follows.
Ayep. Rippers are nice. Pat has good taste.
Rippers are nice. The one she has already sampled has changed flavours by now - he's dark chocolate, and Keth is caramel.
That is very lucky indeed. Keth may not have his alt's years of experience with operating a Bell, but that does not make him significantly less enjoyable.
And satisfying feathery snuggles over there mean there is none of Amariah's not-all-here-ness from before.