Phaedra and Pavel chat, with Katja looking on.
Pavel: The Navy was searching for you for two months! They couldn't get a signal from your ship, so they thought you were trying to hide.
Phaedra: No signal? We had our beacon on. They should have been able to track us.
Pavel: Did you tell anyone where you were all going?
As they speak, something skitters below the floorboards. A rat has run away with one of the scones, carrying it under the floor and outside to the balcony, where a shadowy, long-haired figure stands quietly, bathed in red light.
The rat - and the scone - pass through the floorboards near the figure's skirt and heeled boots. It floats upward to an outstretched hand, which it alights on, looking gleeful as it clutches the scone. Cheth's female half smiles back.
Phaedra continues speaking inside, as the twins lean against the walls on opposing sides of the big glass window.
Phaedra: Oh, of course! We didn't tell my mom because she's... panicky... But we told Lani's mom to tell her, once we were far enough away. We even gave her a map with our route. She said she'd pass everything along. And you're telling me... she didn't?
Cheth's male half smiles, and Cheth's female half bites into the scone with a criminally sharp canine, as the rat perches on her shoulder.