Normal, she said, as if she were somehow abnormal. But Kell had grown up with an eye that looked like a void in the world, the kind that most were too afraid to meet, and he knew what she meant. He kept his mouth shut.

"Strong enough to come here," Emira said softly. Gravely. She put her own cup down and watched Neria, a touch of tension in her brow -- but it was not something she was holding back, or hiding.

Neria meant to help them, and she was sincere in her feelings. Though they would not trust her implicitly, Kell's parents trusted her enough to believe she did not wish them harm, and would help them to close off the rifts that had allowed her to Travel.

"We will fix it," Kell said softly, but firmly. It was a tone of reassurance, and he sounded far older than he was. The crease in Emira's brow minutely smoothed, and she nodded.

"We understand you are a healer as well?" Maxim asked, steering them back to the course.