"Vicki!" Dominique nearly stood for the hug, but Victoire's swift approach kept her from embracing any more closely than the brief contact they had before the elder sister sat. A beat later, Dominique slid the remains of her plate towards her sister. "You can have the rest, if you'd like. I've had my fill."

There was no guarantee that French was safe to speak, but it was undoubtedly less easy to pick up than English. And so it was in their other tongue that she spoke as her eyes traveled over the crowd. The large number of people were both a blessing and a curse. "I know things are dangerous here-but just how bad are they?"