"He paid me yesterday, remember? That's how I got the wax tablet."

"Why'd he do that?"

"He was trading me money yesterday for talking about math and stuff today."

"Only for talking?"

"And for drawing him the diagrams and stuff, but yeah, pretty much."

Eefa looks at her skeptically but doesn't have further comments.

"Does that seem strange to you? It didn't to me but maybe it's unusual here."

"People sometimes ask me questions but they don't pay me about it. They pay for food and useful things like that."

"Well, he wanted an entire lesson, not just a casual conversation."

"Sometimes people want to ask me lots of questions."

"...about, like, your powers?"

Eefa stares in response.

This is going to be possibly the most frustrating possible child to have on hand when Pelape reseasons. ...she should probably explain that that's going to happen before it does.

"What season is it here, do you know?"

"Spring?"

"Okay. Well, Amentans feel different ways at different times of year. My body doesn't know it's spring yet, but it'll notice in the next few weeks. When that happens I'm going to want some privacy some of the time in our room - that means you can't be there, not even if you're invisible - maybe with other grownups, maybe not, it'll depend, and we can work out a compromise on when that can be without being too inconvenient but it'll need to be at least sometimes. And also I'll be cuddlier. I don't need to touch you when you're not in the mood except to keep you clean but I might wind up hugging you in my sleep or something."

Will the hugging hurt, she doesn't ask. She'll find out probably.

"If someone tries to take me while I can't be around you will you come get me back?"

"I'd do my best but I hope we can come up with a good place for you to hang out while I need privacy. Maybe you can be wherever Saffron is since she seems willing to protect you, for example, or you might make a friend at some point who you want to go play with."

Eefa is so skeptical.

"I won't know what the problems are with my ideas if you don't tell me."

"People don't protect me unless they want to keep me away from other people."

"...what do you mean?"

Eefa blinks.

"I'm confused for a few reasons - the thing you're worried about is someone trying to take you, so technically speaking, someone who just wanted to keep you away from a kidnapper would be fine, but it sounded like you didn't think it would be fine. I'm protecting you and I started doing it to take you away from some people but I did that because they were mistreating you. In general I - think you have been in the hands of people who really shouldn't have access to children and you might have a skewed idea of how most people are about most children. Though I acknowledge you are not most children."

Oh no she's noticed that.

"So far I don't want someone to take me from you. If they do you could take me back."

"Right, but - what would be wrong with hanging around Saffron, who doesn't let anyone start fights in Elysium?"