They're all still here. And Ces is going on to her toes in that way that makes Pearl feel very tall, which is a funny feeling, and it would make her laugh if she wasn't so very thoroughly occupied otherwise. Her fingers and the flowers tangle into Ces's hair. She's not really looking, or she'd marvel at how much she looked like a supernatural being. A fairy come to earth.

But Ces isn't that. She's real and solid and Pearl leans forward almost comically to follow her when she parts at all. "Oh, ask." She urges, hushed. That's important. Even if talking's the last thing in the world she wants, right now.