".... No?"

"Exactly." 

"Right. Um. I'm sorry."

"Don't be. It's not your fault."

"No, but I can be sympathetic. And. Also sorry about being a bit. Conversationally clumsy."

"Also not your fault. The Shadows made me godawful at social cues."

"Ah." And also disconcerting to be around, she thinks. "Well, I won't hold it against you."

"But look, I've been practicing." 

She 'smiles' again. 

Yvette is at a loss for words.

"Congratulations," she says, attempting to smile back and not really making it.

Pause. "Do, you want smiling pointers...?"

"Ishmerai's been training me: there's no need for you to spend time on it." 

"All right."

She gets to attempting to decode her diary, then.

The woman goes and stands by the window again. She addresses it, rather than Yvette.

"Oh, by the way. My name is Persephone. Seffie for short."

"Yvette. Nice to meet you."

To certain definitions of nice. The woman is very - unnerving, but that's hardly her fault. Yvette will not hold it against her, so - this meeting is nice.

"Nice to meet you too."

Persephone stares out into the sunset. 

Look at all this nice meeting that they are having. 

Such nice meeting, they are having such a great time.

Yvette will just be over here. Trying to make sense of this book. She'll be working backwards, since the most recent things are probably the most relevant.

Persephone has decided that she needs to vault the bed and push Yvette out of her chair. 

She clears the bed with room to spare.

Squeak.

Down goes Yvette!

What remains of the bed is now on fire. 

Shrapnel flies everywhere. The overturned table catches a hand-length splinter inches from Yvette's gut. 

Persephone looks calmly at Yvette. 

"Stay low, and get to the door before the Shadows take another shot." 

"... Going," she agrees, and go she does, staying low. She has the presence of mind to snatch the diary out of the line of fire. It'll be coming with her, she requires it.

Persephone follows her. No further explosions follow them into the hallway.

Taking Yvette's hand, she starts moving down the hallway, that efficient-looking gun of hers at the ready. 

"This way. Panic room." 

Yvette follows without complaint, diary clutched in her hands.

Panic room!

There is a hidden door in this wall. There is a solidly built room behind it. Persephone sweeps it with her gun, then beckons Yvette. 

"In, quickly. There are three mid-rank shadows closing on us right now."

In she scrambles! She has questions, but they will wait.

Persephone closes the door behind them: it slams home with a satisfying thunk.

"Well. Apparently you did something that really pissed off the Shadows."

Yvette swallows.

"Oops."