"Aegis didn't seem to find it nearly as funny. I guess she hasn't done as much in-person interacting?"
"Very little of it," agrees Merryweather. "She mostly knows me from my paperwork."
"I wonder if we'll ever find the reverse setup. Someone who more often appears as a partner turning up in some basically incompatible capacity and the new Bell looking at the rest of us askance."
"Oh... I don't know, the obvious way would be if somebody got adopted into somebody else's family. Although since Aegis and Sue wound up together despite meeting at age six maybe that wouldn't do it."
Ripper makes a face.
Juliet pops into place. "Hi, Alethia instance of - was Giles right that you'd 'come around' to calling the template Ruperts?"
"Oh, that's cute. I'd have a tiger, if that's the sort of thing you'd rather know. A really big tiger."
"Firefly," says Pattern, disdain for possible firefly obvious.
"Oh, the kingfishers are a very definite template thing, you'll all have them," reports Glass. "And I already said, flying squirrel - cute little gray one."
"Do you want your nametags back now they won't say Rupert on them?"
And at Giles.
Finally she looks at Pattern and bursts into gales of howling, helpless laughter.
Juliet tries and fails to get herself under control. Finally she teleports away.