"So now you see, what, the Monet equivalent of - er - Monet painted blurry things," clarifies Kerron.

"Not really? Like, you get all hung up on the information aspect because that's the only part you know about, but that's not the important part," he says. "I get the same amount of detail, I just don't go the extra step of thinking about what it means in practice."

"Yeah, I don't get it."

"Yeah, I know," snorts Celo. "Most people don't."

"Well, anyway, if it helps, Lily's straight but in that way where she's weirdly affectionate with her female friends even though they don't actually have anything going on."

Celo giggles. "Thanks! Of course, I'd have to go around interpreting to use it, and then Aether would give me that look."

"I guess you'll just have to read a lot of nametags, then."

"Yep," says Celo. "Oh well."

"Oh, there's Lily," says Kerron, pointing. "Still wearing pink, didn't change her sweater."

Celo looks. "Yeah, I see her," he says. "Might as well go say hi. See ya!"

"Bye!"

Lily is apparently lost in thought, leaning on a wall with her ankles crossed, looking at the ceiling.

Celo makes his way over, still drinking his hot chocolate.

Lily glances at him. "Okay," she says, looking him up and down, "this I've got to hear, why are you naked?"

"Didn't stop Glass's kid from putting her miniature panda bear in a vest, I bet those don't occur in the wild. Why don't nymphs wear clothes?"

"Sacred duty," he says. "Which isn't my reason, but it's the general one. My reason is because I don't wanna."

"And the magical black bar is for those around you who don't wanna likewise, I see."

"Yep," he says. "Or I could just never leave my world, but where's the fun in that?"

"Yeah, I really like these parties. They're good for people-watching." She glances at his nametag, blinks, and then stops looking at it.

"No kidding," he snorts. "Call me Celo; my name's kinda hard to pronounce."

"And I'm Lily, which is easy to pronounce and also easy to spell."

"Yeah, I heard," he says. "I asked Kerron who might wanna take a bite out of me and here's where he pointed."

Lily sniffs the air thoughtfully. "Hmm. Yeah, possibly, I have an interest in - well, food - and I'm looking to branch out from human cuisine a little, which means seeing what's out there, everyone's so content to drink their bubbly seven days a week - I'm not knocking the stuff. It's great. But variety is worth investigating too. I'm not going to go all slasher-film on you, I'm just a half-vampire, you want me to take some from your wrist right now or what?"

"Go for it," Celo says cheerfully, offering her his hand. "I'm curious."