[ It's weird to be touched. At least on purpose. Incidental bumping and that kind of stuff happens when you're working and living in close quarters. Which she hasn't been since she got to the station.

The whole thing is leaving her feeling raw and vulnerable in a way that she did not want, ever, and definitely not like this. Luckily the bookseller distracts her with insisting on her taking a book for the gift of her story. ]

Uh, thanks. [ She sticks it in her backpack. ]

Yeah, well. It's not like they're dead, right? [ She hopes not. ] So we will see them again. Eventually. If they're not too pissed about us running off for however long we're stuck here.

[ She sighs. ] I should probably come up with a story starting like, now, to explain all this because there's no fucking way anybody will believe me.