"That is adorable!" exclaims Helen. "I want one! I want to give one to Kas! He loves clothes and he travels a lot, it'd be perfect."

"It doesn't look like it goes all that fast though," giggles Soph.

"That's okay. It's the spirit of the thing. He'll understand."

"I've never actually met a Joker. None of 'em have been to Sunshine."

"I've only met the one," says Helen. "He's very - himself."

"They all are," says Yseult.

"I only have hearsay to go on. Bella - my one - says that her and the other Bells who don't have them don't really see the appeal - wait, is that rude, those are your dads, should I not say that?"

"I am all right with not everyone seeing the appeal of marrying my father," laughs Yseult.

"Yeah, same," says Helen.

"My father is universally appealing," says Damaris. "...That came out wrong."

"Yeah, I have no idea what that was supposed to mean."

"Everyone likes him! At home, I mean. Well, not literally everyone, but - he is very likeable and friendly and nice."

"All of those things are good qualities."

"Kas is like that too, but... maybe not as much," says Helen. "Not so that that's how I would describe him offhand, anyway."

"How would you describe him offhand, then?"

"Sad," she says without really thinking about it.

"Aw."

Yseult is closest; she scoots her chair over and gives Helen a hug.

"Maybe. Uh, lemme know if it would help for me or my Bella or whoever to talk to - 'secret mom'? Why is she secret?"

"She fixed the afterlife and then disappeared," Helen explains. "There are a bunch of legends about her and stuff. And varyingly terrible movies. So Kas and Ranata decided that I should probably not grow up with everybody knowing I'm the Shade-Dreamer's daughter."

"Why is she called that? That doesn't make any sense as a title. Like, 'Slayer' might not be the best title but it's very comprehensible, Slayer slays stuff."

"I... don't really know? I mean, shades and dreams are both... components of what she did..."

"Alethia should fire its title-inventing department."

She giggles.