Lera turned around when the door was opened. She opened her mouth, quickly raising a hand, and stepped forward. "Harriet! Hi!" she said, with maybe too much energy. She was intervening quickly, because the last time she talked to Lynea, she got really angry and things turned awkward. She does not need to direct that at Harriet. "I invited her, yeah."

She looked suitably apologetic. "I hope that was okay," she said, "since--you know, um, she's cool!" And the Khshathra, but she hardly wanted to advertise her as that right away.