Julie & Eric's

Julie gives him a real smile now that she's sure he won't vanish on her. It isn't much, just a quirk at the corners of her lips, but it's real.

"So long as we're doing introductions, mind if if I just..." The back of Julie's head begins to glow through her hair, and from that spot a vague image takes shape.

Behind her head now floats a transparent purple brain connected to her body by a thin silver line.

"My name is Juliette Fiske. I don't really have a name for my species. As best as anyone can tell we are descended from humans that found a way to transcend their physical forms. The Fiskes, all nine of us, have been working towards getting those forms back. I'm one of the few that succeeded so far. In Shelly, I found someone who could understand how hard it is to resist doing bad things when there are no consequences. We've been together so long now that it's hard to say which of us is which."

The light and the image fades, and she risks squeezing him a little harder now that he knows. Some part of her fears he'll still run away.

"Eric? No more lies. I can't promise you much, but I swear if you ask me something, anything, I'll tell you the truth." there is no great flash of light sealing the pact. Just an earnest promise from someone unwilling to let him go.