Raksura. It's not a word that's connected to anything else in Ellever's brain, and that's fascinating to her. Learning new things is something that gets her up every day, far more effective than any alarm clock. So she logs that information away carefully, because -- as the more civilized part of her brain tells her -- he'd also introduced himself.

And there are protocols.

"I'm Elle," she says. Her full name is something she's mildly embarrassed by because she has no idea where it comes from and she's never encountered the name in any baby book or comprehensive research. Not having known her mother in a meaningful way, who gave it to her, adds to the confusion.

Ellever looks and feels perfectly human. But she also looks twenty years younger than she actually is, on account of her nonhuman heritage aging very slowly. Something Else clings to her scent, which humans can't detect: something caustic, heavy, vast.

"It's nice to meet you, Stone," she remembers to add. It's heartfelt and completely genuine, despite the shivering she's doing. Then she glances, briefly, across the water. "I, um. God, I'd do just about anything for a jacket. If only somebody woulda' warned me that I'd be dying, I'd have put on shoes."

This last part comes out a bit more feeble. She's trying to see some sort of silver lining, here. She might be dead, and things might be in a very bad way back home as a result, but at least she can meet new people. Right?