"Well, yeah," says Timio, shoving clothes into a bag, "if there was anybody closer we'd be there already."

"Are you scared?"

Shrug.

Not a very informative answer.

Eefa sits quietly away from people and watches.

Timio and Anina are picked up by another orange and they go, leaving just Mikko and Chioss and Eefa and Shahn in the living space.

Hopefully Timio and Anina don't die or get hurt a lot. Eefa doesn't like it when that happens to people.

Chioss spends most of the evening trying to coax Shahn into listening to the letter the interested adoptive parents sent him. Eventually he doesn't object too much to at least be in earshot while she reads it to him. Mikko fixes picklepot for dinner.

The letter doesn't seem too bad? But also seems like Shahn didn't want to listen at first, so Eefa isn't sure.

The letter describes their house and yard and pets and the school they're in district for and says they're eager to meet him.

Eefa wonders why they're eager to meet him. Usually when people are eager to meet her it's not for good reasons at all - it's cause they want to hurt her or use her to hurt other people. But she knows it's not always like that for other people.

The letter doesn't specify!

Shahn apparently really likes picklepot and goes to town on it.

The picklepot is food and Eefa is happy about that. She eats it dutifully.

And then it's bathtime! Again!

"Is there somethin' that the cleaning is doing?"

"- well, it's getting you clean!" says Mikko. "That's a reason all by itself."

"Oh."

"Is it really?"

"Of course! Every day you sweat, and some of your skin retires and isn't quite attached any more, and you have some oils that keep you from drying out but can also trap dirt, so every day we get you all clean."

Eeep!

Eefa would like to not be in the room where they are going to TAKE HER SKIN!

She bolts, looking for her a hiding place.

"Eefa! What's wrong?" exclaims Mikko.

Replying does not sound useful for hiding in this hiding spot she has found.

It's not a great hiding spot. Mikko finds her and squats across the room from her, not getting in her space, just down to her level. "Eefa, you had a bath last night. That was okay, right?"

Eefa does not want to be found! When Mikko starts heading towards her hiding spot Eefa instinctively reaches for the silvery place she can sometimes see... not enough to go anywhere but just enough so Mikko won't see her anymore...

She vanishes.

Mikko screams!

Eefa is only 50% on the same plane of existence as Mikko but she can still make out that he screamed and this is not encouraging her to become at all more visible!

Chioss comes running. Can Eefa hear or see them well enough to make out the conversation?