"Ooh, is that right?" he manages to only nod in understanding, lips twitching in a grin, at least until the boy sticks his tongue out, at which point, he can't contain his laughter a moment more. Such a cheeky kid!

"On that point, at least, you're not wrong."

The hotel might have intriguing machines, all sorts of inventions he'd only ever dreamed of (seriously, hot-running water at his fingertips? And without a single talisman?), plenty of food, and even people he missed, but in the end, a cage was a cage. They were just as stuck here, pulled away from their lives.

"Did anyone give you the welcome speech yet? Tell you what's going on?"