Julien would've been surprised if there had been fear of them. Reira's an undersized seven year old and Julien looks like a giant pigeon. They're both not as easy prey as they might look, but they definitely don't look like much.

Good to see Reira's more wary now, anyway. Fleetingly Julien wishes he still had his dæmon, but then again Julie might have blurted all kinds of things by now. Maybe not. This isn't like saying mildly embarrassing things in a friendly setting.

"Best hot dogs in Detroit, no one gets those often enough even if they live there," he says lightly, as if he buys that as an explanation. "Are we going anywhere in particular, or is it just better to keep moving down here?"