As Ilya walked down the hallway with Haden behind him, he saw a familiar face. The girl named Ariel was also at this college, walking down the hall. This was unexpected, but not unwelcome, it would make a long day a bit shorter. He hoped that this time would go as smoothly as his conversation with Haden had.

Before he got close enough for her to hear, he talked quietly and quickly to Haden saying "Derek is what your parents called you. If you want to read more about your "story", I'll give you some notes in a minute. That girl up there is named Ariel Dawson, and like you, she was born in the other realm. I didn't know she would be here, but I guess this cuts down on travel time. If you want, you could handle the introduction, and I can fill in the details.""

After he finished speaking, they had gotten close enough to talk to each other. He wished he had more time to prepare, consulting notes and planning what to say, but they had to do this before she walked away Ilya looked at her, and then back at Haden, wondering who would speak up first.