"Same way I got here, they walked through a tear. A tear is like a gate but it's not stable, once someone goes through it's gone. That's why nobody chased me when I came through."

"Woah."  He switches back to the two-handed jacket-pulling configuration.  "...Actually, should I be carrying you?  You're much lighter than I thought you'd be when I suggested dragging."

"I don't want to be touched."

"Maybe I could make... a sling?  Or a swing, rather, out of the jacket."

"...I don't envision that working particularly well."

"As you wish."  He resumes (carefully!) dragging her along.

"You can call me Promise. You should have a nickname too, even if I already know yours it's weird to use it."

"Sure.  Hello, Promise."  Drag drag.  "Are nicknames usually words that mean things, as opposed to other people's names or something?"

"For fairies yes. I guess you can use someone else's meaningless name if you don't expect me to ever meet them?"

"...There aren't any specific Marks in my life but it's a name that exists and that people have it, sometimes.  That would still be bad for this purpose?"

"Only if I meet one and entertain the hypothesis that they're named Mark. Which is now something that might happen whether you use the nickname or not."

"That is fascinating.  ...Hmmmm.  How about 'Zeal', do you think."

"That's a perfectly good nickname. Hi, Zeal. Thanks for finding me, I could have been there a really long time otherwise."

"You're welcome," he would have found you immediately if he could have - no, say something normal, "of course.  How long were you stuck there?"

"I don't know, I stopped counting sunrises after a while. I had time for a lot of my injuries to heal noticeably even without any food and now when we get wherever we're going I should be able to set my ankle and maybe stitch my wing. I think it was - hm - the mortal world has days and years that are always the same, right?"

"...Yes."

"So I guess less than a season."

"- I'm so sorry.  There's a lot more food at my house, and, and you can sleep in my bed and I'll sleep on the floor, and - do you sleep?"

"Yes, I sleep. I could just sleep when you're awake."

"Oh yeah, maybe.  And you eat, and like to, but just don't die if you don't?"

"I don't die. At all. Of anything. But yes, eating is good for me."

"Woah."

"I'm really sorry you had such an awful time and couldn't die about it.  But I'm going to do everything in my power to make it worth it for you to have lived through all that."

"...thank you. That's very sweet."