"They're probably mostly not married? I don't know."

"I guess it's not impossible that one of them would rather not keep a baby."

"I think this happens a lot though. And there are orphans. In orphanages."

"...what, why."

"Where I grew up people say, 'you have to be able to rely on your neighbors!' and take the kids. But in cities everyone is strangers and hates each other... Or so my Dad said."

"And they hate the kids?"

"I guess? Or there wouldn't be orphanages. It sounds like you think people would fight over orphans."

"- yes! That's how it works on my planet! There's good birth control so kids appear almost exclusively when they've got people eager to raise them and there aren't enough orphans to go around among all the people who can't for whatever reason have their own!"

"Huh. That's probably better than orphanages I guess."

"I would certainly expect so!"

"I don't know if I want any more parents 'cause mine were evil. But I know I probably have to find some. Or an orphanage. Even though I have magic. People won't take me seriously!"

"Amentans wouldn't either, you look two and a two year old doesn't know how to handle themselves independently."

"I did keep getting into trouble..." He frowns.

"What kind of trouble?"

"Mostly for sneaking into places to sleep... And not having enough money for food... I tried to work, like, I picked up metal scrap from places and sold it but it wasn't enough."

"Well, those mostly sound like poverty problems and not specifically childhood problems, so hopefully if there's translation work you'll be able to get by better? It hasn't really sounded like you want me to try to look after you more than is implied by traveling together."

"I was scared of the mountain lion before? And I don't know you? It sounds like you know lots of cool things that I want to know."

"I'm not saying you should necessarily want me to look after you, I'm just observing that you in fact have not seemed to. What do you want to know about?"

"Your electricity thingy. They say electricity is the future! Telegraphs and stage shows are just the start!"

"...what are they doing with electricity in stage shows specifically, just - lights?"

"Lights, and little lightning strikes going between metal things, and an electric horseless carriage, and this spinny wheel projector thing that made it look like a horse running on a white screen!"

"Huh, electric horseless carriages before the kind that burn fuel directly, I think that's not how we did it but I guess I'm not sure you couldn't - or do you already have the kind that burn fuel and it's just not how you were traveling?"

"I don't think you can get a steam engine small enough for a carriage? They put them on trains. And for like... Getting water out of mines. Those burn coal."

"Yeah, no, not steam engines, combustion engines."

"Oh, I think they use those for tools. It's more expensive than coal."