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Maybe Maia shouldn't have giggled, but Pixie's attempts at eating the too large piece of pineapple was priceless. She took the piece and cut it into two, offering the smaller piece to Pixie. "Better?" she asked.

"Probably not tonight. Since Toby and Dari are staying. We're going to play snake. And maybe some other games." She took another bite of her hamburger. It was even better than the burgers she'd gotten at the beach shack!

"He wants your sandwich," Maia observed, finishing her own. "Would he sit on my shoulder?" So Lori could eat in peace. "Toby said the first night is the hardest. But I think it'll be a while before I adjust."

Maia was so thrilled at having a dragon on her shoulder that she didn't mind one bit the fact that he hit her with his wing. She reached a hand to stroke him. "Hi Dragon," she greeted him. He didn't seem as clever as Seamus, more like a bird, certainly, than she'd expected: but maybe that was his size. She'd always heard dragons were very smart.

Maia didn't seem to quite believe Lori. She took a piece of fruit and plopped it into her mouth.

With the subject changed, Maia finished her fruit and flashed Lori a smile. "I've made quite a few today. You, Seamus and Pixie." She gave Pixie a pet.

What she wanted to talk about? Hm. "Traveling!" She decided. "Toby showed me Breyer and I want to see it in person. And other places too. I've never seen anything beyond the town I lived in. And there's a whole world beyond that. Even if some of it is desert."

"Really?" Maia asked, smiling at him. "I'd like to see it." She studied him for a moment. "Yeah, I like soda. There's a burger place on my beach, and I went there often enough. Its sweet. Oh! Speaking of, I still have some salt water taffy in my room. Want to try some?"

Maia nodded in understanding. She definitely understood the concept of keeping someone's home secret, especially after leaving her own."I don't want them to have to move, I'm glad there's laws protecting them."

"Some of the kids who'd vacationed on my beach tried convincing me it was made with real salt water." She wrinkled her nose. "Which would be awful. I like sweet things a lot better." She watched Pixie begin to flap: had they bored the dragon?

"He's really sweet. I think I prefer cats, though."

"Well I don't need a particularly smart one. People talk to dogs all the time, and they don't seem very smart." They made too much noise and chased after their own tails too often for Maia to believe they had very much intelligence. But animals certainly made good company, didn't they? They didn't have to say anything for you to know they liked you. "Anyway. They're soft and they purr. And they listen."

"Do you have a pet?" She asked. "Toby told me about pet rescues on the planne. I think I might visit one sometime."

"I'll have to find the right one," Maia said. Her smile had faded a little. "If I do relocate, I'll be alone for some time. I don't think I'd do well trying to fit into a clan. I grew up away from other selkies, I'm not even sure I act like one. I've had more exposure to humans, and I can't pass myself as one. I've heard pets make life easier. Like a friend. I know Toby said he wouldn't just abandon me. But once this mission is done?" She shrugged, "He'll be off saving someone else's life." And so he should be; he'd saved hers. Well, at least saved her from a potential life of slavery and or painful death.

She nodded. "I wasn't thinking about getting one straight away. I thought I could visit one. Just to see." She did hate to think of animals in cages, though. "I'll practice with Seamus. What's having a dog like?" Now dogs she'd had plenty of exposure to. They ate whatever they could find and seemed to decide if something was good to eat by eating it. They were loud, some of them drooled, they dug holes (sometimes deep enough for someone to trip in, which was always entertaining.)