"You've done a good job."

"Thanks."

"So where are we staying?"

"I have space for guests. Do you two want to share a room?"

"I do!"

El heaves a long-suffering sigh.

"She'd just come bother me every night anyway. Might as well be efficient about it."

Mary laughs.

"Very well. This way, then."

She shows them to a room nearby the library. It has one bed she turns into two with alchemy, and has the same sparse decoration as the rest of the house. Still, there are bookshelves on every wall - currently sparsely populated - and deep closets. The large window overlooks the lake.

"Feel free to modify it as you want."

"Without breaking the law, or...?"

"Without breaking the law, though crimes against architecture mostly fall under stability concerns. Don't knock down the walls or make fire hazards, then."

"Okay."

"I'll leave you two to unpack and sleep, then, if you'd like."

"Thanks. For everything."

"Thank you so much Miss Curtis!"

"You're both welcome."

And she leaves, heading into the library.

El lets herself fall backwards onto a bed.

"We did it."

"Yeah."

"Can't believe we're here..."

"Try hitting your head on the bedpost," El advises.

She sticks her tongue out and flops on the other bed. Not hitting her head, of course.

She then turns herself into a Mary burrito with the blankets. "So soft..."

"There were blankets at home, too."

"These are extra soft, though!"

This bears experimental testing. By laying down on top of Mary.

"Yeah, these are pretty soft. Kinda pokey, though. Like there's something alive in them."

She squirms and giggles.

"Must be mice or something. Though you'd think with the cats..."

"I'm not a mouse!" she shrieks, trying to kick her sister.