The ghost, with intense concentration, shakes his head. Floppily.

"He shook his head. Why do you want to know if he has insurance?"

"For a resurrection."

<His people have a thing where you can get insurance to pay for magic resurrection,> she explains. <Can you talk? Those three can see and hear you and can start working on your language if you talk.>

Headshake. 

Then - nod.

He moves his hands, very shakily.

"Is that sign language?"

(Eskillimi translates.)

Nod.

"Minor, what's most useful to start with, here - does your polyglottalism even apply to sign language -"

"I think they're cool! I haven't actually learned any from a fluent speaker, dunno if I'm any good at it."

"Maybe there's a sign alphabet and you can turn it into writing...? Probably too tedious. Eskillimi can you just generally summarize the situation -"

She's demorphing now. It's gross. <Does the situation I'm summarizing involve something to do with Ismat's head hair and "clothes", I didn't quite get that leap.>

The ghost keeps trying. 

The ghost is from a place with humans, and Dwarves, and the sort of thing he is when he's not a ghost. The ghost isn't sure why he's here. The ghost thinks you're not supposed to leave the halls of the dead without a body. These people are not dressed and it's weird. 

He squints and takes notes and doesn't really get anywhere.

"I am wondering if Ismat is an alternate universe person of my wife," he explains to Eskillimi.

"Did she marry you because she was being blackmailed, too? - and if I was following you all before she's also her mother's alternate universe person?" says Ismat.

"We're just from another planet, not another universe," says Hala. "I suppose you might just be from other planets too."

"Not just," says Ana, "there's something going on in that department with at least the Andalites."

"Well, still. But yeah, the first time I saw her and her sister I said 'hi Mom, hi Aunt Klimati' - Aunt Klimati's Mom's sister -" Hala continues.

"Haven't got a sister," says Ismat.

"She married me because of an - emergency - it wasn't blackmail in particular though -"

"I am very fond of him," Ismat clarifies, "the immediate situation was just one of blackmail and plan A being to flee the country and so on."

"I'm going to get my parents to come over," Hala says. "It looks like Dad's pocket everything is running too low on battery right now to share location but Mom is in... France... oh, right, she's got a big showroom opening there. He might be with her and it's not far. Where's Susannah, Aaron?"

"New York."

"Someone said earlier she lives in another country. Not the kind of emergency where also she's actually very fond of you?"

"We - get along? We have a lot going on right now, I can't be in New York all the time and she can't leave her business too long."

"Huh. What's she do?"

"Susannah - or Isaiah, when she's presenting as a man for humans who care about that sort of thing - does clothes, and my mom, Isama, does furniture and lately also prefabricated buildings," says Hala.

"Huh. I'm a jeweler."

"Dishes," remarks Isun shortly.

"Well, that's - a little bit of a mystery answered - tell me about your family?" he adds to Merenre.

"My parents have seven children. I'm the fourth. Uh, the pharaoh's the eldest. Youngest two are twins."

Nod.