"I'm from Eos! Where are you from?"

"Earth. It's the third planet from the sun in our Solar System. Are you in the Milky Way too? That's the galaxy Earth is in. Though I guess you might call it something different..."

"Third planet from...?" He shakes his head, "I've never heard anything like that." He shifts in his seat a little, getting more comfortable, "We could ask Bar?"

- Ava shakes her head! "It's okay! We shouldn't bother her."

Ava knows that asking questions of someone that isn't a kid like herself is bad manners and they should probably leave before they get in trouble anyway.

"She was nice, though! She gave me a free drink and this really good fish - are you hungry, you should get something too! We can eat together, having dinner with special people you meet is important," he nods.

Tenebris perks up at the mention of fish, eager.

Of course she's nice to him and gave him free things. He's important enough to have a crownsguard, which probably means he's a prince? She's not anyone. She shakes her head at Noct and Tene both.

"We can't," she says to her shadow.

He vibrates with outrage! They've been offered fish!

"Why not?"

"We're not allowed to bother people. Especially important ones."

"That's silly. It's not bothering if I want you to. Besides, father says we should always make some time to talk to people," He nods.

She wasn't talking about him. Well. Maybe a little bit since he's a prince but - anxiety spikes in her chest and she wants her Tene and her cupboard and she's going to be in so much trouble-

Tenebris shlorps back towards her ankles from under the table, coiling around them, firm and comforting (and pulling on her anxiety).

- and Ava bends down and reaches for him, curling up on herself. TeneTeneTene.

He's here! He diffuses a little from his semi-solid form, curling through her fingers and around her arms like thick smoke, omni-present and cool.

She snuggles him as much as she can, and shivers a little from the cold and the way he pulls at her emotions. It feels familiar. Hurts. Like he's pulling on something deep inside her body and she doesn't have any control of it, but it's good because it's him and he loves her and it feeds him and -

He could take them? He wants them, and it would help her calm down.

Noct cranes his neck but he can't really see what she's doing down there without un-jamming his chair from the table and wheeling over a bit. It's a slow (and loud) process.

Yes.

He tugs harder at the bubbling feeling in her chest, dragging it out sharp and quick and drinking it down.

Digestion goes quick - shortly he's a little more substantial than he was a moment ago.

Noct pushes against the table again and finally gets unstuck, calling over to her.

"Hey- Avaline? Are you okay?"

The pain is just as quickly over - sharp-pulling-cold - and she lets out a relieved breath and... blinks and looks up at the boy.

"Better now."

Tenebris shoops back down into black snake form around her ankles before the boy gets a good look at him!

Noct squints - what was that...? But after a moment, he nods, coming the rest of the way around the table and holding out a hand to help her up, "Did I say something wrong? I'm sorry if I did."

She stares at his hand for a little too long, probably, before she hesitantly takes it and pulls herself up. It'd be rude to refuse and she doesn't want to upset him.

"I'm just... I think my being here is a mistake and if my mother or the doctors find out I'm going to get into trouble and you might too."