"Alright. Is this something you want me to try to understand more about? Shake your head if you'd rather not do that right now."

This gets another headshake.

"Ok. Do you want to go back to the living room? Shen should have the mattress there now."

Nod.

Then they can do that.

She follows, takes the clothes to the bathroom to change, and curls up on the mattress.

In the morning, she's asleep on the couch, under the blanket, with the television playing very quietly.

They don't sleep as early. They do work that needs to be done, take care of things that need taking care of. 

They talk.

She finished the translator - helped to do it faster that she'd already started it for Laeres, though less hurry now that Denice is asleep.

Marchess got back to her.

I got nothing on a search. 'Out' on jobs, unless it's urgent, but I've set up something with a better net. See if it catches anything.

Sources of other messages remain empty of them.

"If she did it - the place she took her from - if she just kidnapped someone from the street we -" (We can't let her do that, she doesn't say, can't let her start doing that. Can't say there's more lives in the balance if I refuse her, even if I try everything for whoever she takes. We can't start doing that, we have to draw the line or there'll be more and more, and if I couldn't go through with it, couldn't refuse, you'd report us.  

They've talked about it, they know. She doesn't have to say it.) "But if it would be worse for whoever she takes if she didn't -

But I don't know what she wants -"

She hugs her. They talk about the right timeline on being the first to reach out, if it keeps on this way.

She says night prayers and sleeps beside her and she'll be there for nightmares, one kind or the other.

L doesn't take over her dreams to show up talking, either.

In the morning they'll wake up, and go about what they do, and wait for Denice to wake up.

She sleeps through the morning. Scans show she's fine - tired, malnourished, with a new bruise where she flinched into the doorframe, but nothing concerning; she just doesn't wake up. (Records from the Asylum show that she's used to being woken fairly early.)

They don't see a reason to do that. 

Kids go Learning Center-wards and Laeres heads to work. Shen and Heria stay.

She wakes just before lunchtime, and stays very still for the first few minutes, then takes the fresh set of day clothes to the bathroom to change into and returns to the couch when she's done. (She doesn't touch the remote. They probably worked out that she'd used it, overnight - she hadn't intended to leave the TV running, that was an accident - but there's no reason to give them more evidence that she can do things.)

They hadn't been sure if she'd left the screen on on purpose, but better to default to not overruling what Denice does, as much as they can.

(If they thought she couldn't use the remote, they'd be trying to figure out something else. But they're not going to try to cause her to touch it.)

She comes into the room.

"Good morning. Food in the dining room again, or should I bring it here? Follow me to the dining room if you'd like?"

Dining rooms are for eating in and day rooms are not, yup. Follow follow.

Dining room!

"Would you mind if we eat with you? Absolutely alright if you'd rather not. Nod if that's ok?"

She shrugs, then nods. (She's used to being monitored while she eats, and having other people around; eating alone was a little weird, last night.)

They don't want to force company, but isolation can be its own harm, and Denice clinging to her the night before is something for the direction of her maybe getting things out of company. And they are who they have, here.

Heria brings out food for Denice and for them; she and Shen sit down as well.

She eats. Again, she doesn't pay any more attention to the food than is required to get it into her mouth without making a mess.

They eat, and talk (in her language) about various minor things. 

She listens in, circumspectly and without commenting. It doesn't take long for her to finish her meal.

Such-and-such person Heria knows had a baby! The sister of such-and-such other person Heria knows is going on vacation to the moon! This polity they're in has politics! There's construction going on by where Shen usually works!

Vacation on the moon. Okay. That's less surprising than the magic, she supposes.

When she's done, Heria will clear away her plate, and then take out a clip like the one she's wearing.

"Here's the translator for you. This one will work if you wear it in the right place - you can wear it like I do, or in your hair, or I can get you a bracelet or a necklace or something like that for it."