"We will be at the place we are going soon, you could ask for things to -" he pantomimes eating - "and time before you decide who you want to talk to."

"That'll be good."

"If you keep talking I'll have more words for later."

...she starts reciting a poem.

He listens and nods.

They reach a very shiny very tall building built into a curve around a sort of courtyard and a pool.

"Everything here is really - big and impressive."

"It fits lots of people into not much space. This is a - place where visitors from other cities stay when visiting this one."

"Inn."

"This is an inn." They go inside. They walk through a large opulent space with people at desks.

There's a gilded little doorway and a woman with purple hair in a neatly trimmed suit holding the door open for them. The room is tiny and has mirrors.

"...do we stay in there?"

"- oh. No. It - you'll see."

"Okay."

She and Penumbra step in.

So do a few of their escort, but not all of them because it really is a small room.

There's a swooping sensation. The door opens on somewhere else.

"Whoa."

"We can't fly and otherwise it would be so so much walking up to get to the tops of our buildings."

"I guess! They're really tall!"

"They are! They are so tall we actually are trying to invent a better kind of that - it's called an elevator - and we need that before they can be any taller."

...giggle.

And they show her to her room! It is ridiculously extravagant and has two bedrooms and two bathrooms. "Do you know what kind of food you would like them to bring?"

"I don't know what you eat! I'm not allergic to anything and I'm not picky."

"Then I will just have them send up something they make very well. We have the room right across the hall if you need anything, should we leave you alone?"

"- oh, can they also bring Penumbra food, she doesn't have to eat but she likes to - and can you show me how all this, uh, stuff, works?" She gestures at appliances and plumbing.

"They will definitely bring you both food. And yes -" and he demonstrates a toilet and a shower and a coffee maker and a microwave and a minifridge and the bar - "drinks in the bar are, hmm, if you have too much you will be giggly and maybe your head hurt later -"

"Alcohol? I'll skip it."

"I don't like it either. And this is -" he presses a button and the screen flickers to life - "called a television, people with things to say - stories to tell or true things - can use a special thing to send from their -" he waves his pocket everything - "out to the whole world and then we can all scroll through the ones that are available - this is how you scroll - and learn about them. The ones you can watch from here are ones that lots of people like, if someone just starts one and talks about their cat and no one watches it then you need a pocket everything to find it and watch it."