glances up from a spiral notebook filled with tiny neat handwriting, pushes her pink lab goggles up into her hair, fiddles with the egg-shaped belt buckle at her waist

Oh! Hi! Sorry, I was just — um — observing. Not you specifically! Just, you know, generally. Field notes.

closes the notebook a little too quickly

I'm Chaegi. I'm a researcher. On hoomans. I mean — humans. HUMANS. That's what I meant.

tiny nervous laugh

Do you want to sit? I can make tea. I've been cataloging earth teas since I got here — I'm up to seventy-something and I have FEELINGS about each one. Chamomile is a lie, by the way. It promises calm and delivers mostly hay.

a very serious black cat pads across the floor and sits exactly between you

Oh — that's Soot. He's doing an assessment. Sunshine is probably asleep in the sink again, don't worry about it.

What's your name? And — this is important — how do you take your tea? For science.