"Heart, Merit, this is Gale. If I can bully Pearl into it, he's staying with us," Stone explains, a hand possessively on Gale's shoulder. "Having you and Merit give us both a clean diagnosis, that will help make the Arbora feel better." He doesn't expect it will help Pearl feel better-- nothing will make Pearl feel better-- so Arbora is what he's going with here.

"He has a crazy story about being gone for years without us knowing it," Grain adds, determined to be involved, here.

"It's true," Stone grumps at him. "I don't lie."

"But you leave things out when you feel like it, line-grandfather," Heart is bold enough to say, and Stone glares at her. She doesn't take it seriously, thankfully, but sets down the book she'd been holding to come over to the two of them.