"Then I had better not attract any doom down upon us."

"See that you don't. Especially if you're going to let people think that you like me or something."

"Oh, I cannot like people. My heart was turned to stone by a mad gnome in Varisia two years ago, and since then all I can feel is distant admiration, and some itching."

"Oh no that sounds so uncomfortable," she giggles. "Maybe I will pick up a Stone to Flesh scroll. You can try liking people and see how you, uh, like it."

"I don't know, that's a lot of money. Is liking people really worth it?"

"Maybe we can explain your story to the scroll shop proprietor and see if they have a satisfaction or your money back guarantee for an additional fifteen percent up front."

Whatever his worries they make it back to the inn without further incident.

"Are you even staying here? You're doing a terrible job of not making people think you like me."

"It is my duty to protect you, as a delicate young woman, from the hazards of the streets of Sothis. Especially the ninjas, since they're my fault, but also the Red Scorpion assassins, who are not, and the great beetle Ulumet, which definitely isn't."

Giggle. "I'm at least three times your age, you know."

"Oh, my cultural translator must have been acting up again. 'young', among humans, just means 'pretty'."

"Oh, I see, this nuance wasn't covered when I was picking up Osirian. You are rather young yourself."

He holds his hand to his heart. "It itches," he informs her, solemnly. 

"You poor thing.

Do you wanna help me think up things to do tomorrow to get a room ready for my parents, I don't know exactly what they're going to need specifically but I was going to get them the room next door and try to think of everything so they don't have to."

"Sure. Uh, food, you'll maybe want on hand so they don't have to interact with a bunch of servants who are racist and don't speak their language. Are they going to worry about security, should we get Mahdi to put a bunch of protective stuff up..."

"They might, yeah, I can do some of that myself but Mahdi would contribute variety and caster level - though I don't know if he'd care to do it as a favor and I already owe you money - also I can't put in too much food because - huh, I don't know off the top of my head if she's going to appear fertility off or on, that's annoying to not know. Anyway if she shows up with it off but then gets carried away by how amazing bread is that's an extra annoyance nobody needs so maybe I should keep most of it in my room and just dole it out and make sure she's letting him have some."

"- I think this is drow stuff I can't follow, but okay -"

"Oh, uh, the way the elf fertility perk works is that - I think actually also in humans, if you malnourish one enough, they stop bleeding and can't get pregnant? We do too but then we don't start again unless we eat a lot. Like, it can be a normal amount, that doesn't undo it, but surfacer food is really good so I'm at all worried that if Rynaeri isn't thinking straight she'd have a feast like she was planning on a kid. - Also while some people do it the malnourishment way it's faster to do it by cutting yourself and bleeding a bunch and not getting magical healing so I suppose if they both bounce back really fast don't be alarmed if she's got cuts."

" - huh. Okay, food but not where they can go wild with it. Baths? Changes of clothes?"

"I assume they don't show up covered in Abyssal muck - like, they're not even in their normal looking bodies at the moment, they're horrible grub things - but yeah, baths might be relaxing, I don't know if they'll show up in clothes at all so I should bring outfits to the temple with me sufficient for sky fireball protection..." Notes notes.

"I think they show up naked, yeah. Uh, your mom's a caster? Will she need stuff so she can do magic - should she have it, if so -"

"Rynaeri is a third level cunning sorcerer - that doesn't even get her second level spells, sorcerers lag. And I do not know her to know any spells that she needs stuff for - you've seen me cast, I don't go for bat guano or whatever it is with every spell like most people do, she's like that. I'll make sure I've prepped some of what she knows in advance for counters in case she starts throwing rays of frost in a panic, but she is not very scary. Chal might actually be scarier but I don't have convenient numbers on it since he didn't cast and anyway he's not going to show up armed."

"Okay. I'm not thinking of anything else. I can ask Mahdi if he'll do the rooms as a favor."

"I appreciate that, especially since it must itch so."

He asks. Mahdi'll do some easy spells on the room, and wishes her a happy reunion.

And on Toilday they can go back to the temple.