Chéri did not expect Christine to pull them in, but they weren’t against that and confirmed that with a big smile and a laughter. “Really? And I thought you were the queen of literary saloons!” Whatever that was, but Chéri had heard the compliment often enough to repeat it. Chéri shrugged “I am not sure I am better, but my face is pretty!” They confirmed and laughed, with a bright, heartwarming smile.

Chéri nodded and looked around. One sat during reading or listening to someone read, right? They looked around, searching for a chair and smiled again. They were grateful for that warmth. Whitby had been very unwelcoming in very many way to them so far and the few people who had been friendly to them off the bat wanted something, so it was really refreshing to just be *liked* instinctively. And they were absolutely not against making a friend because they were pretty, had a cute smile and just showed up.