"She's jealous," Raleigh says with a pointed look. "Which, I mean, have you seen Corry? I'm not surprised. But she knows that you like Corry more than you like her." Which, thankfully, Raleigh didn't say loud enough that Ariel could hear. "Ariel trapped us up on a counter. There's a lot of negatives there." Oscar had rolled onto his back, and Raleigh bent to rub his belly.

"I don't think they take cursed wombats, but... how do you uncurse her? Have you figured it out?" Her brows furrow. "What if you like... I don't know, gave her beads to try and spell into letters?" That seemed like a long shot, but Ariel's smart, and Raleigh knows -- she knows from when she was wombat-sitting (okay, maybe she just assumes, but still) that Ariel understands English. Maybe she can write, too?