"Nnno, like, you wouldn't be able to do it." Pause. "Like you'd get stopped before you'd otherwise do more than, like, inconvenience-slash-pain me." Pause. "Because I'm indestructible." Longer pause. "You know, I've never had to explain this before."

"I can see that."

He continues flying, totally not expressing that he feels slightly put out by the comment.

People don't have to be nice. It'd be nice if they were, though.

"So, indestructibility, what are the parametres, you don't look like you're all solid, if I poked you with a pin would it just never go, would the sword just not cut you, how do you get haircuts, oh wait you change, how do Makers get haircuts?"

"Can mildly inconvenience-and-or-pain me, doesn't do more than that. You could in fact stab me with a pin, I could in fact turn it to dust, I would in fact heal, overall would just be annoyed. Sword would do a shallow cut. I have no idea about Makers – it's hardly like I socialize with them."

"Why don't you? Your powers sound like they complement each other very nicely."

"… Mainly because they are kind of extremely horrible? As in, 'what will I take for payment for what I'm making for you, why, since I can make whatever I want, I'll take your undying immortal soul, or alternatively the chance to kill your firstborn, or mmmmaybe I'll be okay with fucking you' – pardon the language."

"What, all of them?"

"Well, I've never heard of any nice ones nor met any and it seems to be widely seen as actual fact among my people so I'm going to guess there's at least something going on?"

(They're still walking up the steps. There are lots of steps.)

"You'd think changing stuff for 'em would sometimes be enough payment, ya?"

(Theo can fly alongside the others just fine.)

"It depends on what the stuff is, I guess, but they don't need us to change themselves, and they can just create a different version of whatever they wanted to change and trash the old one."

"Sounds rough."

"And you said Makers and Changers are summoned, like aeons, with circles?"

"Please do not try it, there are also Movers, if you accidentally summon someone mean they might turn your loved ones into foam or they might decide they want to swallow your planet with a black hole or decide that telekinesis is a great way to have fun, what does planetary collision look like."

"You will find this conversation much more productive for all involved parties if you don't actively hold information from Kaede."

"That was more of a disclaimer than me trying to actively withhold information."

"Yes, and it was—"

"Lu."

She sighs and shuts up.

"You are disclaimed, now tell me about it!"

"I can't say whether it's anything like aeons, but yes, you summon us with circles and you don't want to repeat the one you just used even if you can remember it because that will get an unbound Changer and while we are generally very nice people that is not in any way, shape or form, an absolute and there are horror stories and fortunately I am not inclined to generate more." Pause. "I keep emphasizing this. I don't know if I'm doing it enough or too little, because like, again, have not encountered a society without them in my experience so far nor done a reveal or– anything."

"I don't choose the circles, they just happen, and they happened a lot of times before and this never did."

"… I mean, it does have to satisfy certain conditions to be a summoning circle, like you have to specify what type of daeva you want, but you don't have to do it in a language you know, so maybe you just got unlucky-or-maybe-lucky this time with what circles it did? Or is it consistent each time, because– that would be confusing."

"It's exactly the same circle every time."

"… Is it usually on the ground, too, and flat?"