It's a relief to know that her impressions were spot-on, although she'll have to take his word on Ebrietas' beauty. "But they aren't water deities?" she asks, to clarify. It does seem rather fitting for Great Ones to be linked to the sea. Bodies of water are often associated with secrets and mysteries.

His mannerisms as he prepares to read, right down to the squinting and clearing of his throat, remind her so much of professors in her past that she forgets about the cage on his head and pays attention as if she were back in school, focusing on his words and trying to make sense of them. The writing is verbose, but Rousseau's line of thought is fairly straight-forward, and she follows along easily enough.

It's easy to see what kind of student she was back in college: eager, well-behaved, but a little shy when it becomes her turn to speak. "He, um, he's making a good argument against might making right. Just because you force others to follow your rules, it doesn't make those rules 'right'. Not if someone even stronger than you can come along and knock you off your pedestal."