"If it happens again, he will be," she replies evenly. It's not something she wants to consider - she'd much rather it never happened again - but it's an easy enough reassurance to offer, because it's true. Should Oswald make a reappearance, there won't be any time wasted with wondering what's going on. They'll know who he is, and they'll know to keep him contained.

She winces a little at his bruises, even though they're fading. Not for the first time, she wonders if one of them should have tried to wheedle Gabriel into patching the Balladeer up, too. It had felt a bit risky during those first few days, in part because she wasn't sure Gabriel would feel charitable towards the body that beat Johnny half senseless (regardless of who was steering it at the time), and in part because she wasn't sure the Balladeer would concede that he deserved to have his injuries brushed away.

She's not sure if it's worth suggesting the idea, now. Gabriel doesn't have a monopoly on healing people, but the Balladeer's far enough along the natural road that it seems less urgent. It does still look a bit dramatic, though. "I suppose you could tell people you were mugged," she says. "If they asked." She frowns in broody indignation as another thought occurs to her. "No one's been bothering you, have they?"