"I don't think that makes sense. You can only do so much growing up in so much time."

"I guess I got, like, a compressed version of the growing up process. So I can read and write and work a job and take care of kids and navigate around cities with cars, and I skipped the part where you learn to draw and build your own houses."

"I think you skipped some other parts too."

"Don't be mean, dear."

"I'm not being mean! I think having parts gone because you skipped them makes lots more sense than having parts missing because, I don't know, you didn't want them."

"Vaguely concerned but also kind of curious to hear what other parts I'm missing."

"When someone tells you you can learn how to do something you usually think you can't. You are sad all the time. You expect people to hurt you but you don't normally plan how you will make them like you instead."

"Ah. I think that stuff is - growing up wrong. Except the sad, that's, uh, a lot of things. I don't feel like children usually start sad and then learn to be happy?"

"Babies cry a lot."

"I guess. I think they mostly stop because they learn other ways to say that they want something, though."

"I guess maybe. I think when I'm sad it is mostly because I'm small."

"I guess I am... arguably also sad because I'm small. Comparatively speaking. Except I'm not going to get any bigger."

"You will get more - powerful, though. More able to make things happen the way you want."

"Nooot really, unless my life changes significantly from here on out, which is admittedly looking pretty plausible? But it did not look like this was going to be true a week ago."

"But then you found me."

"Yep. That admittedly changed some stuff."

Their cart rolls up to the great walled city. The pillars on the horizon are turning from silver to white.

Tirion is - shiny. There's really not a better word for it. All white stone with gold embellishments and gemstones everywhere and glass sculptures that reflect the white light. It's like walking through a shower of sparkles. Maitimo hops out of the cart to race ahead to a corner where a vendor is offering little kabobs. 

At this point she thinks she's in the process of passing 'aaaaaa no no no too nice make it stop' and just accepting that she's landed in some kind of fairy tale realm. 

She waits for a second to see whether anyone else is gonna get out.

They do, though not as hurriedly. The people on the streets step out of their way. 

Maitimo is chattering happily with the vendor when they catch up. "Karen, this is Ailinel," he says cheerfully, and then a sentence that's presumably the corresponding introduction. 

Everyone starts loading kabobs into a basket to put on the cart.

She waves at Ailinel and then sort of reverts back to standing around awkwardly following people and assuming that if anyone needs her to do something they'll say so.

She can help load kabobs! 

Sure. She can do that.

And then they can go to the next vendor and take a hundred of these meat roll things and then to the next vendor and take a hundred of these cream puff things and then to the next vendor and take two hundred of these flatbreads and he's so happy.

(She's so glad she is not as far as she can tell expected to pay for anything right now.)

It's good that Maitimo is really happy now. He's had a rough week, but it's good knowing that it wasn't too rough to bounce right back from.