Asbel laughed again softly, closing his eyes for a long moment. "It's okay. You probably don't remember that either, but back when Richard and I were kids, the three of us - you, me, and Richard - all made a pact of friendship together, up on Lhant Hill."

Tern listened to Asbel curiously, nodding to Sophie once he was finished talking. Poor Asbel. Tern knew better than anyone how much worrying he'd been doing lately. "O-okay! I'll do that. And maybe...maybe you can stop them from being mean to anyone else, too."

Nodding at Tern, Asbel waited for Sophie to come to a decision. "All right. Sounds good, Sophie. I doubt I'll be able to help you out much with your homework, but if you want to tell anyone about what you learn, I'm all ears, okay?"