Paul is right -- Gideon pretends not to hear that quaver, or see the blurry light that comes from Paul rubbing his eyes. She instead opts to give his salty hair another ruffle, because it really is quite fun, and then pulls away to go grab a few boxes of snack food from the cabinets.

"Aw, man, I'm so bummed," Gideon replies, very obviously joking. "Not one souvenir from the River Beyond? That's kind of rude, I was expecting at least a tee shirt." Once Gideon is satisfied with her collection of snacks, she starts making her way towards the door, motioning for Paul to follow. "Come on. It's up in the best room in the house."

That's Gideon's room, obviously, and she takes Paul up the winding, creaky stairs to the bedroom on the left. It's surprisingly neat, given Gideon's personality, with an exercise mat set out in front of the bed like a little rug, her sword propped up in the corner, and cutouts of various women from assorted Trench periodicals taped to her walls. Gideon really works hard to make this house a home.

Gideon makes a beeline for her bed, sitting cross-legged on top of it, with the snacks set down on the mattress beside her. She pats the space on the other side of the snacks, a clear come sit gesture. "I've eaten snacks in bed pretty much every day since coming here. It's the best. No one on the Ninth eats snacks in bed; you've got to try it out."