"I guess that could happen."

"It's like - gender? Every once in a while you get someone who wants to change it but most people don't even if there'd be some advantage in some contexts."

"Okay."

"My family is not very representative." Giggle. 

"Why's that?"

"Well, intercaste marriages are very rare, less than 5 percent, and that's where you usually get people who badly fit. And also I have seven children, that's vanishingly rare - one in a thousand - which makes it likelier I'd have two who weren't green and ran off to do something else."

"Hm."

"If you want you might have enough Anitami now to go meet people, you could ask them."

"I could actually stand a walk outside, it's been a while cooped up. Penumbra?"

"I'd like to go flying," says Penumbra.

"The hotel room has a balcony if you want to take off from there and meet us down below?"

"- I mean I don't want to walk I just want to fly around," says Penumbra.

"She can't carry me, either, if that's what you meant."

"Oh, okay. Then we can go for a walk and meet you back here later. ...it might be a good idea to not make it clear which hotel room you're leaving from, actually, just in case someone wanted to bother you, would you mind going down in the elevator with us and then going flying?"

Penumbra turns invisible.

The door to the balcony opens.

" - even better."

Giggle.

"People from here won't bother you but I bet all our neighbors have sent in diplomatic teams which are waiting to pounce. And you can talk to them as soon as you'd like, of course, but - no pouncing should be involved."

They take the elevator down.

"I prefer not to be pounced on!" she agrees.

In the lobby there are yellows behind the desks and a purple janitor mopping and unobtrusive grey security at the doors.

And she steps outside.

They accompany! Outside there are lots of people of all colors and in all kinds of outfits and of many different skin tones, bustling down the street. Some of them stop to stare and take pictures.

" - you could put on a hat, if you don't want everyone to get all excited -"

"I don't mind if they have pictures of me..."

"All right! Where do you want to go, anywhere in particular?"

"I don't know what's in walking distance of here. Schools? Gardens? Do you have temples, at home those are often very pretty."

"There are schools and gardens. I don't know the word 'temples' -"