"I asked about that first thing, yeah."

"I apologize in advance for Cricket once he wakes up."

Mitros giggles. 

"No, really, he's terrible. But hello, Antir!"

"- hi. I'm not really used to -" She buries her face in her wing. Mitros pats her. 

"- sorry."

"How do you do it?" she asks Mitros.

" - talk to people? I don't know, what part's hard?" 

       "Thinking of things to say."

"I think of things I want to know, and then about how to make them want to say things that'll let me learn it."

      "That sounds hard!"

"...maybe it takes practice."

"You talk to Finankar, right? And Fannar?"

"I make fun of Mitros, mostly."

"Well, he's eminently mockable." She pats him.

"Hey, have you found any magic malaria-eradicating interdimensional bars this morning?"

"Was skill involved in its discovery?"

"We don't know what the door-placer's door-placement heuristic is but off this sample I'm going to flatter myself that it gives doors to people who will take most dramatic advantage of them."

"Maybe it just likes your nose." She inclines her head at Aitim.

"I did not actually get the door! A college student in this town got it, and I finagled my way onto the contact team despite working in foreign affairs, and Cam saw me in a crowd of people and said 'can we talk?' which did wonders for my reputation for accomplishing ridiculous things through means no one can figure out."

Snort.

"I am not a King. It sounds nice."

"I have no complaints. Not going to correct Maitimo's staff when they call you 'your grace'?"

"That'd be rude."

"Surrrre it would."

"Mitros didn't mention he was a King for quite a while."

"In case you were unfriendly."

"I figured, yes."

"He is King! I am Queen! It's pretty great!"