Melody tiredly starts going through her script for re-orienting a panicky Leareth. 

Somewhat to her surprise, he actually interrupts her three sentences in. 

:I know. ...There was a snake. It startled me: 

:Ah. It makes sense that you were scared. I'm sorry: Melody is also quietly wishing she'd grabbed one of her fidget toys on the way out. 

:...I think it also startled Forgiver first and I was trying to help but then it startled me more: 

Leareth with his dog is VERY CUTE. 

:That makes sense. Do you think you'd be up for walking inside soon? I think that you'll feel safer there and be able to relax more: And unfortunately Melody lacks the Quendi advantage of being stronger than humans and able to just pick him up and carry him inside. 

Leareth considers this. 

:...I think so?:

It then takes him several minutes to prove this right, but he does manage to sit up and then stand up and then also take steps in a direction, even though this is a really unreasonable level of required effort and complexity. He wears the blanket over his shoulders like a cape and calls for Forgiver to follow him. 

Forgiver will do that, heeling quite close.

His dog is very good! Leareth makes it as far as the sofa where his laptop is and then half-collapses there. 

Melody should probably go make him tea or something soon, but for now she doesn't want to go too far away. 

:So I think we should give Forgiver a way to get my attention if I'm inside and you need help outside - maybe a bell on the door? - and train her to call for me right away: 

That's probably a good idea but it sounds very tiring to think about. 

:I was thinking that I should add some kind of reminder function to my app I am building so that I can use that to remember to let her outside more often: Leareth says back, even though this is probably a complete non-sequitur. 

:Oh. Hmm. That does seem like a good idea: 

Answering this also sounds hard, so Leareth is just going to dangle his hand for licking. 

Forgiver is on it. She will lick that hand real good.

Ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh when are they going to get the bathtub problem sorted out. Now on top of everything else, Leareth has yard dirt and some bits of grass in his hair. 

He seems calmer, though, so Melody will go make him some tea and a snack. 

After really not very many minutes, Leareth is able to sit up, get back up to speed on what he was doing when he left off with the app-in-progress, and then tap out an email to Shory asking for advice on how to make it remind him of things because he keeps forgetting to let his dog out often enough and Melody forgets as well. 

Shory suggests that for the time being he use an app that already exists, like this one, and then he can use that for inspiration on how he wants his to work. He can also read the source code if he wants!

Dree sends Melody an email later in the afternoon with a link to a product that appears to be an inflatable bathtub with a heater-circulator that they could put in the yard.

Melody doesn't actually see this until dinnertime, when she drags Leareth away from the laptop in order to eat yet another instant soup. And then she needs to get Leareth's help to actually decipher it. 

"That seems like a good idea, if you're fine taking baths outside in the yard? I guess we're pretty remote so it's unlikely to bother anyone, but it might be cold when you're getting out afterward." 

Shrug. "It is still an improvement over the shower." 

Melody, with some further help from Leareth, replies to the email and says that sounds good, how does she actually buy said product? 

Dree will order it if she likes the look of it!

Is there a way to send it back later if it looks good in the picture but turns out not to work for them for some reason (Melody effortfully replies)? 

Yup, if she explains the problem it can be returned for a full refund.

In that case Melody is happy to order it and see how it turns out! 

(Leareth types this reply for her because he's now spent some time practicing the typing game that Shory recommended, and is finding it painful to watch Melody pluck out each letter one by one.) 

The next day Dree comes by with:

- a second loaner laptop
- a stim sampler
- a hairbrush for Leareth because it is starting to look to her like he maybe forgot to pack one
- a retired psychiatric pharmacist who introduces himself as Idrial