"We all do that in our sleep."

"It's adorable."

"Apparently some of Miranda's roommates hate it and she has to do that spell before she goes to bed every night, but to each their own."

"Miranda's roommates are closedminded and silly. Some of them will grow out of it. It's adorable. - we could ask Bar if new Bell's been here before -"

"Ooh good idea - Bar -"

Not that I can recall, although my memory does not extend infinitely.

"But he's like eighteen so probably no."

It is entirely plausible that a trillion years have passed for me in his most recent week.

"The differentials get that big? Okay."

I don't remember ever catching one that size, but of course I could only do so every trillion years or so.

"Do they get that big in the other direction? A trillion years in a world without much time passing for you?"

I see no reason why it could not.

Nod. And more waiting.

Eventually the new Bell wakes up on his own.

He opens his eyes and shuts them and mutters very quietly "this part is easier if I'm on fire".

"-hey. What's your name, do you know where you are -"

"Angband," snaps the new Bell, and he curls up into a ball. To himself: "Just a dream just a dream only dreaming -"

"- what are you - doing?"

Sobbing into his elbow, apparently.

"Do you want us to keep you asleep - do you want us to kill you -"

"You can do whatever you want with me."

"I'm not the person you know, we've never met before, if the door opens on Angband we can't even go fetch the people you probably intend by that -"

Silence.

" - how come the books didn't pull up that they had a Melkor and an Angband -"