"........And that matters because you believe she's real, now?"

"Yeah I think I'm snapped out of it mostly. Sorry. I will try not to let it do that again, I was pretty on top of it till Svetka passed out and nobody pulled over no matter how loud I yelled."

"Welcome back."  Hug hug hug hug squeeze squeeze squeeze.  "I'm really sorry."

"It's not your fault. I'm sorry I got you socked in the head by being from another dimension."

"I really should have guessed something like this might happen.  I'm... going to untie you now??"  She leans over to try and make eye contact with Xavier in the rearview mirror.

"Yes, go ahead."

"Thanks. I think my arms are both asleep."

"Yeah I bet."  She locates a knot and starts picking.

"...Will you still be annoyed if I call you what I think I should?  Sir?"

"I prefer everybody to just call me Haru but I'm not going to insist."

"I think that doesn't answer my question as phrased."

"I will experience annoyance but it is not and should not be your problem."

"I see."  Hand?

Hand. "Sorry. I'm just kind of allergic to formal address. I call my parents by their first names when they're not listening. I admittedly don't do this for my schoolteachers but only because nobody would know who I was talking about."

"Oh.  I mostly only know about parents from books."

"You're an orphan or something?"

"Yes.  But they were both dead before I was born."

"Your timeline has artificial wombs and stuff? And you were engineered by some non-parent social structure?"

"I was incubated, yes.  Some other New Year'ses made me, but Mr. Vogt says you don't have those here except for maybe him."

"I have been assuming that this planet like mine has a new year annually but I'm not sure what you mean."

"On my planet, everyone born on each day of the year has the same personality as each other, and New Year's Day is mine.  Mr. Vogt says he wasn't born on New Year's Day, but was still in the autumn, and I think he mostly matches.  And Ms. Anders seems like a New Year's Eve, and I don't know what you are.  Maybe a Hexumber oh-seven."

"I'm not usually like this. I have a magical problem right now. On Earth New Year's is in the winter. ...early spring if you're Chinese. Also there isn't a month called Hexumber. Here."

"Mr. Vogt told me those things.  But my guess was partially based on your name."

"It's the second half of my middle name."

"..........Did you lie, earlier?"