"You're very brave, then, my dear! I'm pretty certain I would've been frightened, but, I'm not made of very stern stuff," Gen claimed.

It was just as important to pretend you were a pushover, not a threat, when you weren't sure what someone was capable of. But he doubted the little girl was any kind of threat to him. In her case, he's modeling the fact that admitting to feelings was okay to do.

Gen smiled sheepishly. "Trick magic, I'm afraid. Real magic doesn't exist in the place I was taken from. But it was still a lot of fun, and people don't really seem to mind that it's pretend."