"Oh, right, um - every person gets a spirit animal. Only the person can see them, and they have their own language that's sort of - really easy to learn? And then if you want to be a spellbinder, you bind your spirit animal and make it your familiar, and then it has a body and can walk around and do stuff and you become a spellbinder and can do magic."

"Your familiar doesn't walk," she giggles.

"I know. But she slithers. Does she let people pet her?"

"No one's really wanted to, but she lets me. If you ask she'll probably let you, too."

"Maybe when she comes back I will. I've never touched a snake before."

Edarial nods. "I can ask her for you, if you want?"

"I don't want to interrupt her, that seems rude."

"When she gets back, then."

Nod, nod. "Your world sounds nice."

"I think it's pretty nice. I just wish I had a different mom. I don't like mine."

"Why?"

"She's scary. And I don't think she should be in charge of anything, and she is anyway, and I think that's causing bad things to happen."

"Is she the president?"

"She's not a president. And she doesn't do the - Hunger Games thing, or anything. She does nice things." Pause. "Just. Not always."

"My parents are pretty good parents. My dad used to be a Peacekeeper but he got injured and had to stop and anyway not all of them are so bad."

"Why are Peacekeepers bad? Or, some of them, why are some of them bad?"

"Well, some of them are meaner than I think they should be if they catch people poaching or something. I can poach a little because my dad has Peacekeeper friends and I'm little still but when I'm older it'll be more dangerous."

"Oh. And you need to poach for food. ... People shouldn't need to poach to eat."

"I know that."

"Sorry. I shouldn't tell you things you already know."

"It's okay. I just... I have the same conversation a lot with people I meet here."

"You can write it down? Hand people copies with the standard questions and your answers and how you know it's all horrible?"

"Write it down on what? I spend all my shells on food. I'd like to have paper too but it's not worth having to go home that much earlier. Sometimes I think I'll go home and then I stay another fifteen minutes and somebody comes in who'll buy me lunch from Bar and then I can last another day and anybody might have something that makes the difference."