"Not a ton."

"The food thing, you said it might not work if it was fairy food. Why is that?"

"Food works best if there's a clear claim on it. You have a better claim on mortal food than on anything here."

"'Claim'? And why did it work anyway?"

"If food is yours. Not in the sense of having paid for it - it helps if you grew it yourself, the berries from my tree are mine, that sort of thing. Hand-feeding is very strong."

"Ah, makes sense. But blood is relevantly food? And you have to swallow it?"

"Apparently and yes. Weak food claims are dicier."

Nod. "...I can't think of anything else to ask. Could stick around until I do or maybe there's something obvious? Or if you think that should be enough I can go."

"I don't know what else you picked up. Those are the basics."

"Just that. I inferred a couple of things from Thorn's questions, like that there was some other world where humans usually come from, or a bit of how much leeway I had under his orders, but not much beyond that."

"You're sure yours is different? Maybe check if the gate is right then."

"I'm very sure, yeah, and good idea—" He slips through the gate, then back. "Unless the other world is a mirror image of mine that's the place, yeah."

"That seems unlikely."

"Yeah, I think so, too."

"Well. See you in three weeks."

"Take care of yourself."

Through the gate.

When it's closed it's like it isn't even there.

...huh.

Three weeks later she's back at the same spot.

A gate appears.

She makes herself invisible and intangible and deaf and blurries her vision and steps through the gate—

Promise is there, and nobody else.

...doesn't look like anyone's magic here either but just to be on the safe side: "I rescind all orders I didn't give you."

...telepathy, are you deaf, that could be a thing they've done—