"It's not like the families, we didn't have to be convenient to one another..."

"I probably would have wound up interacting with Maitimo regardless of exactly where I'd landed, if it was somewhere in Arda."

"His country is really important?"

"It - was doing important things."

- nod.

Cricket yawns a great toothy yawn. "Where are we?" he asks Iobel.

"Magic interdimensional bar! The guy with wings is an alternate universe version of me and the guy with blue hair is an alternate universe Mitros."

"Hmmmm and what is wrong with him?"

"Dunno, why don't you stay here and find out while I go talk to Cam?" She peels him off her shoulder. "And the bar will give you treats if you ask."

"Ooh."

"Hello," Aitim says, and then he and Mitros start describing people they know to each other.

Cricket supervises disdainfully, then goes and jumps onto a barstool and tells the bar to give him treats and gobbles up something gory.

"Figured out what's wrong with me?"

"You are tedious, but I am sure there is something more dreadful to be had."

"It's fashionable to dislike us for the color scheme, do you feel strongly about that?"

"I have not decided how I feel about your stupid blue hair. Oh wait. Yes I have."

"There you go."

"You are probably worse than having stupid hair in some way."

"So suspicious."

"I should have told Iobel I was gay earlier."

"Ah huh. What's your society's - deal with that -"

"It's not the end of the world but if you flirt with a girl a lot and then tell her on the third date she'll be very upset."

"Brilliant."

"Finankar does most of my common-sense for me."

Cricket hisses at Mitros. "He kissed her," he adds to Aitim. "He kissed her before he told her and then conned her into marrying him anyway and carries on with his boyfriend who should have warned her about him and now she is alone and too married to date people who are not awful. Be ashamed."