"Even some stuff you have to learn to do you can have to be from a particular world for. But you can still also be standard model bio."

"I think it'll be more clear in time. I'm not in a terrible hurry, I've got another decade or three in me."

"- I mean, probably you'll want to save up for immortality?"

He double-takes and the water splashes to the ground. "-What."

"...oh, that's a thing. I'm not going to get it because I'm from here so I'll just be a daeva and that's fine, it's kind of better than never dying in a lot of ways, but if you don't have anything like that lined up you probably want to save some money and buy an immortality ring."

"Do you know how expensive those are? And how an old man might go about earning a lot of money?"

"Ugh, I forget what they cost, my friends are mostly local and we don't buy those or resurrections. It's a lot but you have rare magic and there's probably something nobody else can do that'd be worth money."

Deep breath. "Maybe I can teach it. Maybe they'll want my help to talk to spirits, honestly that's the ideal case, that's my usual work. I really couldn't list out all the things I could do if I put my mind to it, if there's a metaphor that fits pretty well I can probably stretch it... 'M best with air aaand that means nothing to you does it." He chuckles. "I think I might want to cut this busking thing short and try to get home, or get to an office of theirs maybe, get a jump on that."

"Sounds like a plan! Good luck!"

"Thanks for the chat! Good luck on your calculus test too!"

Well! That was a half hour well spent. He picks up the sign, might as well and no need to be littering, and goes back to ask the library computers where the nearest Vanda Nossëo office is.

They have one right near the bus stop!

Off he goes to the office, then, looking around to see if there's an info-booth-like thing.

Yup, there's a front desk with six people behind it, three currently unoccupied; one waves him over. "Hi, welcome to the Revelation Minneapolis office of Vanda Nossëo, how can I help you?"

"Hello. Sorry to bother you with this. I actually came here from a newly contacted world, wanted to see something else for a bit. Then I heard that immortality rings exist, so I'd like to head back as soon as possible and ask about employment for my magic. I'd go back to, ah, Edda station one with the buses if I thought they'd be waiting for me there, but I don't think so."

"Oh, did your escort just - drop you off at station one and not give you a way to get in touch with them? Okay, I'm going to send a message to the info booth staff at station one, and one of them should be able to help you get back to your own planet."

"Seems so, maybe I misunderstood something? But I appreciate it! I don't need money to get into the bus stop? I was going to busk with this card, but..." He shrugs. 

"- but?"

"Sorry, I should speak more plainly. But then I heard immortality exists and urgently wanted to go home."

"Oh, so you didn't get any tips? Okay, I can spot you a bus token." She pulls one out of a drawer.

"Maybe I'm not as interesting as I thought. I'll pay the kindness forward."

"Mm-hm! Do you need anything else?"

"Not right now, thank you."

He will once again boldly go forth and... Navigate the bus system after handing over his token, trying to read the terminals first to get to Edda on one quick lesson on computer use, and resorting to an info booth if he cannot accomplish this basic task. He needs to head to one of the Edda info booths at the end of this, anyway.

When he's made it to station one, the info booth is there with Lisa standing beside it, sheepishly awaiting him. "Sorry," she says. "I just had a slip of the brain. I owe a fine for stranding you and I can pay it to you or the charity of your choice, what's your preference?"

"Oh, it's my fault as much as yours, walking off without a thought. It's not really necessary."

"I'm glad it didn't cause you any serious problems! I do still owe the fine. If you don't care what I do with it I can just dump it on environmentalist subsidy or something?"