“Ah, but wisdom is ageless, or so they say,” Claudia returned, smiling. Pity she couldn’t dig deep into his thoughts, pull out the memories of this ‘Nancy,’ twist his mind around to see her…no, she could only see the vague shape of his thinking.

She sat perfectly still, still as a little doll: she only needed to breathe while speaking, after all. No fidgeting, no restless shifting, hands folded white and still in her lap. It tended to unnerve mortals, her stillness, but he hadn’t yet noticed. He might not.