She smiles. "I go to Law school. One day I found a weird turtle trying to cross the street to a stream. I helped it." She taps her eyepatch again. "It wasn't a turtle."

"Ah, a rather nice introduction to the supernatural as far those go. And then you started being helpful?"

"Yes. I can't say I've had much chance—there are a couple of brownies living in my dorm and I got a little something from a little something else—but that's the general idea."

Nod. "I had a greater number of opportunities to help, but only for small stuff - a lot of one-time boons and the like. Do you have," he waves, "a goal with all this helping?"

"Now that would be telling."

"It's like I'm trying to figure you out or something."

"Sure but there are things you tell the cute boy you met today and things you don't. That falls squarely in the latter category."

"Fine. Keep your mysterious air."

"It's not about mystery, I just don't trust you," she says matter-of-factly.

Shrug.

"Honestly, though, maybe I just want to help people."

"I think I am not the best person to use that line of argument. Just so you know."

The Usual #3 arrives. It does smell quite delicious.

She pokes it with a fork.

"Isn't it? Why is that?"

"Survival tactic," Peter says with a shrug.

"—well that's depressing," she comments, starting to eat the Usual #3.

It tastes good.

Peter shrugs. "Well, what I can do about it?"

"By yourself, perhaps nothing, but maybe you'll have the good luck of meeting someone who likes being helpful."

"That would be a lucky day, wouldn't it?"

"It would! But this helpful person would need some of your help, too. They'd likely need an invitation into the court, to understand the situation better, and perhaps architect events that would cause this court to be indebted to them. And then they could, oh, perhaps demand they free that human as payment."

"That would in fact be great for the human. And the human might even guess that he might as well take the opportunity, even if it fails it can be valuable practice."

"Smart human, that one."

"So, an invitation, do you have a specific date in mind or any time shall do?"

"Any time, I can skip class if I need to."

"Cool, would it be inconvenient if I sent a message bird telling you when to come?"

"...it would be terribly Disney princessly of you, but I do not object."