Teddy crossed her arms. “I’m Theodora, but the Boss calls me Teddy because that’s a cuter name and it’s a kind of bear, which makes it more fearsome. I’m a bear girl. I like communism and helping the Boss, and I don’t like it when people don’t share. And I like fish and other foods and sleeping.”

That was nice and concise. “Ah, I’m Emily Wright. I’m a student here studying English literature and history; I . . . don’t know exactly what I want to become. I like . . . uh, looking at nice animals and quiet evenings at home.”

The new girl made a little interested sound at that, like a cross between a faint whistle and a hoot. “That’s very interesting,” she said. “I like . . . I’m not certain what I like yet. But I suspect I’ll enjoy furthering my education and learning many things.”

“That’s wonderful,” Emily said. “I’m sure we could visit the library, or, uh, something like that.”

The girl nodded. “Now that you’re aware of my preferences, will you be naming me?”

“I, uh,” Emily looked around. They had some food to eat, and not much else in terms of distractions. “Well, I, um, wouldn’t want to give you a bad name. So, please tell me what you think, or maybe what you’d like to have as a name?”

The girl hummed and adjusted her glasses. “I don’t know. Perhaps something that reflects my staggering intelligence?”

“Uh,” Emily said. The only names that came to mind when thinking of owls were a little bit bizarre for a girl. “Maybe something like . . . Alex? For the library of Alexandria?”

“That is rather nice,” the girl said. She said it with some hesitation, though.

“Or maybe Athena?”

She blinked slowly. “Like the goddess of wisdom?”

“Yeah,” Emily said. “I think it’s a nice name.”

“I’ll call you ‘Tina’,” Teddy said.

“You will do no such thing,” the newly christened Athena said.

Emily shifted. “We do need a non-Mask name. Not, not that I’m planning on doing costumed stuff.”

Athena tilted her head to one side. “Fine. Tina when at home, then Athena when in disguise. That seems perfectly logical.”

“Tina then,” Emily said. She smiled a little. It was a relief, at least, to see that her new summon was mostly normal. A bit . . . tiny bit full of herself, but she seemed nice enough. “So, are you hungry?” Emily asked with a gesture toward the boxes of food. “We could eat while I . . . while Teddy fills you in on what’s been happening?”

That actually ended up requiring some reshuffling of things. Emily had a little stool and her comfy chair, but that left one person standing. She didn’t have any boxes strong enough for someone to sit on, and her nightstand was too heavy to move.