[ She sits up carefully, feathers and lost hair clips shifting on the cushions beside her. Her fingers don't move past the area of 'this is okay', but the soft pets don't stop, either. ]

We're not . . . we're just imposing for a little while. It's been hard to get back to Heropa, and Kazu-kun . . . one of our friends is here.

Is . . .

[ She's jumped off buildings without a second thought, run into groups of armed marines, looked out at the city from the edge of the clocktower . . . but somehow, this is something that takes courage. ]

Is it all right if I pet your ears?