"Yeah, that's fine."

Zeal is more limited in the ways he can harmlessly drag her on the non-trail ground.  He tries not to look too delighted about this.

"There.  I think here's good."

She scoots off his jacket.

"Thank you."  He drapes it over his arm.  "...You don't have anything with, I don't know, funky time stuff where if I leave you alone you'll disappear forever or something, do you?"

"...no."

"That's good.  Okay, I'll most likely be back in a few minutes, some chance I get caught up and can't bring you inside until night.  If that happens I will probably be able to come bring you some food and hang out with you for a while, just not bring you inside without my parents seeing.  Do... if my parents come home while I'm bringing you inside do you want me to carry you?"

"...why would that make me want you to carry me?"

"For speed, so they won't see you."

"I wish I could just turn invisible. Fine."

"I also also wish you could do that.  Any other thoughts?"

Headshake.

Okay.  Nod, back to the path, deep breath.

He scratches a small rut in the ground to mark approximately where she's hiding, and goes to the house.  No parents yet.  ........It occurs to him that he could have simply texted them.  He asks if they're still out at Costco and if so could they bring him a bag of beef jerky?  He's really craving it.  Teriyaki please.

His mom responds pretty quickly that they're still there but they already went past that section and she'll swing back and pick it up for him but could he please try and think of these things in advance next time?  Maybe even at any of the times when she asks him for what he wants!

He sends that he'll try and he loves her and he's thankful, and treks back out to Promise.  "We have plenty of time, it turns out."  Jacket goes back on the ground in front of her.

Scootch.

Pull.  Puuuullllll.  ...Music back on, actually.

Zeal's parents' house is built into a hill, with the main entrance upstairs and a back one in the basement, with a deck over it.  Getting Promise over the threshold requires some extra care, but at least his room is on the lower floor and he doesn't have to decide between stairs and the exposed hill.

"Uh, so this is what a human house looks like," he notes, hitting a light switch with his shoulder, "if you have any questions I'd be very happy to answer them."  He feels kind of self-conscious about the number of objects lying around in the common areas, but he thinks his room is actually pretty clean for the moment?  They'll find out in a moment, he guesses.

She looks around in rather open bewilderment at most everything. "How do the lights work?" she asks, squinting up.

"Domesticated lightning!  Same as in my phone, and also a lot of other things.  It's really useful."

"Wow. Nice if you can't do sorcery lights."

"Yeah.  Can sorcery play music?"  The carpet's making the movement situation a lot easier; he can slide her across the floor pretty quickly.  Here's his room.  - Right, good, he made his bed because he was folding laundry on it earlier.  There's a little pile of clothes that he'll have to shove in the hamper once he's gotten her situated but this is basically fine.  Thank God.

"Not that I know of, though I didn't have all that long to study before I got captured." Does he have... books.

He has books!  They have titles like Leviathan Wakes and Frostbite and Frankenstein.  Many of them have photographs printed on the spines.

Neat. "If I'm staying up while you sleep, can I have enough light to read by?"

"Yes, absolutely.  And you can listen to music in headphones and go on my laptop and stuff.  Which is like a phone but bigger.  It can do a lot of things but we'll get there - do you, uh, want to climb up on the bed?  Or should I try and..."

"...I can probably do it, I only have one busted ankle." She hauls herself up.