Malin lightly touched the flower tucked in his ear, then shrugged. "I see no reason not to. I can hold on to it if you need me to. ...I-I kinda like having it close by anyways."
"Because it reminds you of your obvious crush, right?" Bennie blurted.
Malin threw his pencil at her. "It's not a crush, she's my great-grandmother!"
"That never stopped the rest of us! She was my grandma too and I still banged 'er!"
"Literally how is that helpful?!"
"Anyways," Bennie continued, "Life's right. We should get moving. Uh, kiddo..."
She paused, something flickering briefly in her eyes as she gazed at Kayin. Malin could almost see the wheels in her head turn as she watched him, something bordering on genuine motherly affection reflected in her eyes.
"Are you ready to go..." She offered a small smile, surprisingly sincere. "...Karen?"
Malin stared at her for a moment. "...Aunt Bennie, it's Kayin."
"I said that!" Bennie insisted. "Isn't that what I said?"
"You said Karen. How are you so bad at this?! You literally just heard his name!"
"Far be it from me to explain my own quirks, point is I love my son and we gotta go!"
Alfonso chuckled, the sound dark and chilling. "I wonder what'll be faster," he murmured. "Your powers, or Ingris'? Ingris, I think a demonstration may be in order."
Ingris shifted. "It only works with a touch."
That was frustrating, admittedly, but Alfonso was sure it would work out somehow. He sighed. "I'm sure you're very fast. ...Alright, then. Suppose you would like to leave. Suppose you go back home and Xenos finds out you skipped out on helping us find Life. Suppose he tells Death. ...I will leave it to you whether or not you wish to let our beloved queen mother know that you were more concerned with your own selfishness than helping with the one mission she actually considers important. That goes for you as well, Ingris, my dear."
Ingris flinched. "...I guess I'm pretty fast," she mumbled, deliberately avoiding looking at either Alfonso or Niven.