"I mean, I've read stories! About knights and stuff that is. I went to school, y'know? Ok well I was homeschooled but Sis brought all the books from not home school and she did a great job with me after... anyway did you know I [i]was[/i] a knight? Briefly? And then a wolf! Slightly less briefly! But ok well not a [i]knight[/i] as I cosplayed one so I could get kidnapped by a dragon. Princess! A Princess dragon. I assume you've got... no? Back where you're from? Huh. Well, goshies."

Yue laughs, even though nobody else does, and busies herself for several quiet minutes making little tippy taps on her weird rectangle, which cannot possibly serve any purpose. She's very polite about it, though! Which is to say she makes extra careful special sure to glance up about once every twenty seconds or so to make sure everybody's got a conversation partner and enough tea and snacks to last the moment, though she's running out of both of what she thought to bring today.

She purses her lips for a second, and gives this table full of new friends a sad look. For just the briefest of moments, mind you!

"Well, dang it. I was just talkin' to Sis and she said she's not available to come look at your boat for a hot minute. I totally forgot, this is such a bummer! See there was this, uh, lil' spot of trouble at a shrine about a week or so's hike up thataway? We used to have this big old metal giant plugged into it but this and that happened and whoosh, plowey! Kerblammo! It went and blew up. So a friend of mine, unfortunately no longer with us, she plugged [i]her[/i] giant evil death machine into the spot where it had been but without her around anymore to juice it that didn't stick. So Sis, uh, her name's....... Xiu. Well I should call her Princess Kikill right now but anyway Sis' big thing is buildin' castles and towns so she's hangin' out down there until some better infrastructure builds itself back into the area so that... I guess you don't need the details, huh? Anyway it's gonna be like a month or so before she'll be back home?"

"A month?!" says Bella.

"Yeah. Sorry, Bells."

"Bell[i]a.[/i]"

"Oh, is that a no go? Dang it. You've just all got these real hard to pronounce big city type names so I was hopin' I could--"

"My name is Bella Hostilius Tredecima Mosaic. And I've fought hard for every piece of it, so I would appreciate it if you said it properly."

"Sure thing. Uh. Belluh? Did I get it? Beller?"

Bella's gaze falls down to her teacup. She is surprised to find it filled again. She takes a sip and finishes with a very loud sigh.

"Actually, do you know what? 'Bells' is fine."

"Yay! I knew we were friends! So that leaves... hokay, here I go. Dany."

She points. Bella gives a nod.

"Nice. And you two are married. That's so sweet, I love height play! I mean, congratulations! And then there's Dol... Dull..."

She points again, snapping her fingers and willing this fiendishly complex name to her lips.

"Dolsee? Dollshay? Ah jeez. What about Dolchef? Would that be ok? All right and you're... Vasilly. Yeah that one's real easy. And you two are married, too! Oh goshies wow it's a whole love boat thing, huh? That's so neat!

Yue blushes. Something about this arrangement seems to intimidate her a little bit. 

"Which leaves My Lady Dissident Knight, the Guardoness. Dyssie? And you're [i]not[/i] married, but... oh. Oh! Ohhhhh! Fox Harem. Ok, ok, ok! Got it! It's so nice to meet all of you!"

She grins, not just from ear to ear but all the way down to the very bottom-most reaches of her heart. And it is a very special kind of magic indeed at play here, if a woman like this who not so long ago was threatening you with swords and who still hasn't managed to say a single one of your names correctly [i]and[/i] who's only known you for an hour or so can look at you and really for actually call you her friends. 

And for you to believe that she means it, too. Because you do. Not to put words in your hearts but I can tell. And it's true that there's no Hestia wavin' at any of you from across the table. Zeus doesn't offer you a proud nod. Demeter doesn't threaten to stab you, and Aprhodite's screams are nowhere to be heard. There's everything of divinity in this moment and in this green and blue and glittering world all around you, but there are no gods that you can see. 

I'm not gonna tell you what a friend told me 'cause I don't think you're ready to hear it. But even if she's wrong, I'll say this instead: if you think about it, it's not so strange that you can't hear their voices. Bella keeps sniffing the air, deep and very unsubtle whiffs in Yue's direction, and all she gets for her trouble are stiff ears and a blushy complexion. Because there's no scent of deception in the air. No transactionality, no ulterior motives. There's nothing like that going on at all. Which means, well, couldn't it just? If there's nothing to ask a god [i]for[/i], do you need to hear their voice? If they don't have anything to teach, do they need to speak in the first place?"

"Well, ok! My girlfriend is swingin' by for- y'know I've been meanin' to propose to her for years now? But I said to myself, right from the start after she turned back into a girl from bein' a wolf and then [i]I[/i] turned back into a girl from bein' a wolf instead of her, I said 'if I'm gonna do it I've gotta beat her in a duel first'. It just makes sense, right? It's romantic! But I haven't managed yet. I'll get her, though! The problem is there's this one move I really wanna finish the fight with but it's sooooooo telegraphed and right when I go for it just, whoops! Haha! Y'know? But she's been so patient. Hyra's great. You're gonna love her!

"Whiiiiiich, haha! Segue! So here's my deal for you. If you want it. My house isn't the biggest, but if I move my table I've got space to roll out the extra futons. And if, y'know, if you don't mind, while we're figurin' out your whole message dealie and findin' whoever it is you need to deliver it to, consider yourselves at home. Ok? I'll give you the grand tour of this whole area if you want, and any other places you're curious about. I may not look like it, but I've been all over the world! All the way to Ys, and even the Sky Castle! I figure if we've got at least a month before you guys can take off again we should just call it a vacation. Yeah? Sound nice? Guys?"

Bella takes one more deep breath. And for the first time since landing, she relaxes. 

"I don't presume to speak for anybody else, but I accept. Thank you for your hospitality... Demon Swordswoman."

Yue squeaks somethin' fierce and hides her face among her bags as she begins to pack up her little tea party, just all the bits that everybody's done with. Bella's grin is full of teeth. Her laugh is sharp, so sharp it sounds wrong against the air you're breathing, but then again, is there maybe a little bit that fits in? 

"I. Um. Er. Ah. O-ok! Yeah! Th-thank you! I promise it's gonna be a blast! Mhm, well--"

Yue's weird rectangle suddenly erupts in song. A quiet, vaguely trebley, high tempo techno bop with a lot of words about the beauty of the moon under a clear sky. She scrambles to fish it back out of her pocket and taps it with her thumb, silencing it in a hurry.

"Oh! It looks like the west hill's ready for harvest? Do you guys mind if I...? Um? Is, uh, is something wrong?"

Wide-eyed, Bella slowly turns her head to look at Redana. Her mind is filled with memories, of a carnival and a movie theater and painting after painting after painting that played just this sort of music, with the liquid crystal paint that blended together to make moving images without a crank to wind it. She is remembering the [i]Tunguska.[/i] But that's, surely that's impossible?

"Dany, you don't think...?"