"Hey, hey," Cassie said, crawling after him, holding out a hand to show she wasn't a threat, to try and soothe his fear. "Shhh. You're safe here, I promise. Nothing here is going to hurt you. Breathe slow, you're safe."

She sighed, sitting back on her heels. "I'm not very good at explaining how this sort of thing is possible," she said. "We're just aware that other worlds exist where I'm from. It's magic, basically -- you know magic? Even if it's not really a thing where you're from, are you familiar with the idea of magic?"