"They are," Quen agreed happily, pleased at how well her first real meeting with Ari had gone. "You should have mentioned how nice she is," she chided jokingly. This was funny because, of course, Merri had gone on for at least a week after the Festival about how nice Ari was.
"So," she said to Merri, "are you going to leave too, or will you show me how to light a fire in the fireplace without burning down the tower?" It was late enough in the year that Quen probably wouldn't actually need a fire until October, but for someone her age, using fire stones was rather humiliating.