It doesn't really work through clothes but it is still acceptable.

Well, the guiding doesn't, but it does really help to reassure the overwhelmed teenager. 

Oh good.

They reach the silo.

"You don't have your own agent yet so I asked Epione's to send someone over to help you get set up," Kevin says. "Order groceries, connect to the wifi, whatever you need, and he'll be there till she's off work and I bring her here for the night, making sure that nothing in the apartment will set her off. Okay? He can give you space, of course."

Oh! Right, of course, Epione has her Important Job (and Kani needs to be Ready To Be Good when she gets back.)

Kani nods. "Thanks. And... if I have questions he can't answer, is it okay if I text you?"

"Yes, but I might not answer right away, I'm with Epione all day."

Nodnod. "Got it."

She lets go of Epione's hand with a bit of reluctance, grabs her bag, and heads inside the silo, waving goodbye.

Kevin shows her the door code in. "Guy'll be here any -" A knock. "There he is." He lets in the guy.

"Hi, Kani, I'm Gary."

Oh! Here already. "Nice to meet you." (It's actually, a bit overwhelming on account of Another New Person, which is not exactly hidden in her body language.)

She looks around the place awkwardly. Does it have a kitchen? Couch? TV?

It has a kitchen, couch, and TV. Gary takes up a spot in the corner of the living room couch and seems content to be ignored if she doesn't want to deal with him right now.

Kani will brave social interaction long enough to get the wifi info! 

Once she has it, she gets some nice mellow instrumental music playing, and then goes to see what kinds of pots, pans, burners and such the kitchen has. She... kinda misses cooking, actually? Certainly it sounds like a better (and less embarrassing!) way to spend the time waiting for Epione doing than curling up somewhere and hiding from Gary. And maybe it can be useful to the others, too.

It's got an electric range with four burners. There's a big steel frying pan and a little nonstick one, and a big soup pot and a medium saucepan, and a few knives and a wooden spoon and other miscellaneous cooking utensils, and a set of uninspiring cutlery. The fridge has an empty plastic pitcher in it.

Good enough for her purposes! She hums happily and heads back towards the living room.

"Do you know if Kevin or Epione like chili? I was thinking of making some."

 (Possibly she could have just texted Kevin about this, but she said she'd only do that if she had questions Gary couldn't answer, so she's going to ask Gary first.)

"I wouldn't make Epione anything spicy, I don't know if she normally likes it but she'll be coming off a work shift. No idea about Kevin."

"I'm used to making very mild chili and setting out spices for people to add on their own, so that's fine." She pauses, trying to think through how her backlash might interact with eating. "Do you know if she has any flavors or textures she can't stand?"

"I think she doesn't like pineapple? - To be extra clear I do know her backlash and it's okay to talk about it with me, but that's the kind of thing you should be in the habit of checking, I don't know if Kevin told you."

aaaaa

"...oh, he'd said you'd be here to make sure nothing would set her off, so I just assumed..." she trails off lamely.

"Yeah. It's fine, you're fine, but keep it in mind."

She nods hurriedly, and then retreats into the kitchen.

Once she's there, she realizes that she can't start cooking because there aren't any groceries! She's too embarrassed to head back to the living room right away, so she makes a list on her phone of groceries she'll want while taking a spice inventory.

She'll also text Kevin to ask him if he likes chili and would want some for dinner. 

I eat at home with my family, but thank you. Chili's not a good choice for Epione, though, she's going to have backlash when I hand her over to you.

For spice reasons, or is there a different concern? What does she usually eat while backlashed?

For spice reasons. If she's at a low level (it'll depend on what comes into the ER today) she can eat zero spice (ZERO, not even black pepper) foods that also aren't bitter or sour, but at medium and high levels she eats things cold or room temp, out of packages, that are always the same. Gary's going to get her usual staples sent to the silo and can throw whatever you want in there too.

I usually make totally unspiced chili and adding the hot sauce to my portions - it comes out salty, but not spicy or sour. I can make a batch of that and let you decide if it's worth trying or not?

I'll keep an eye on her levels through the day and let you know.