Xellos approached Benny as she was looking into the window of a dress shop. He chuckled warmly, "Hmm, hmm. Hello, Benny."

The half-Irish woman sighed and muttered, "Why am I not surprised?" She just shook her head and clicked her tongue. Her arms were crossed across a form-fitting black vest, black tie, and a white dress shirt. The sleeves of the shirt were rolled up to elbows. Her right wrist still wore those nine plastic bracelets and a claddaugh rested on her middle right finger. Her left wrist and hand was bare, save her tattoo around her wrist and a plain silver band with a ring of inlayed onyx was worn on her left middle finger.

"How indeed," he commented, looking closer at her. He found her interesting and pretty in her own way. This was more than the "fleeting smile" that she called herself. She was more long lasting.

"Not you, Mr. Xellos," she said, offhandedly. "They still over-charge for pieces of crap they call 'fashion'. And, I still can't afford whatever I actually like…." She stopped and laughed. Her eyes met his open lavender ones, "Mostly, because I'm broke here in your world." She turned and walked away from the shop, heading to the fountain in the town's circular center. There, Zelgadis told Benny to meet him. He was going introduce his "acquaintances" to her, and vice versa.

Xellos watched Benny for a few seconds, looked at the shop, and followed her until they walked in step. She walked briskly in the flat black canvas and white rubber shoes that made a light tapping sound on the cobblestone streets. "Do you always walk so vigorously, Benny?"

"When I'm on a mission, yes," she answered. "Are you getting out of breath, old man? I mean, you could just poof yourself there. But, no you decide to walk with little ol' me."

"You're not quite in the right to say you're small in stature," he said, nearly laughing. "You're as tall as Mr. Zelgadis. And, I dunno for your area, but that's fairly tall for a woman around here."

Benny thought on that. It was true, the average height of an American woman was about five feet and six inches. She was (what seemed to her) only four inches taller than that. In fact, Kat would make jokes of the difference in altitude. But, to Benny, she wasn't tall, she just had a four inch advantage. In fact, she fell short two inches of her childhood dream of being six feet tall. "I'm only five-ten," she answered, quizzically.

"What's that mean?" asked Xellos and then realized. "You measure in a different system. What do you measure in?"

"Inches, feet, miles," she answered. "The old English standard measurement system, you know? Oh, wait, you don't… Sorry, I forget I'm not in Kansas anymore… Well, my case, America, in general."

Xellos just blinked and smiled softly, "Pardon?"

"Nevermind," she groaned in her thick accent and continued in a more Americanized accent. "I'm not gonna be used to you all not getting what I'm saying."

Xellos looked at her as if to say, "Really?"

"Okay, okay. More than usual, better?"

"I'll accept those terms of that complaint," smugly spoke Xellos, as if he had defeated one more naïve being in the world.

"Ooh, score one for Team Xellos de Hellmaster," muttered Benny.

Xellos stopped them both and asked, "What?" His usually near lilac eyes now a dark deep plum.

"Yes, I do know of your creator, Xellos," answered Benny. "I'm accepting of the fact that you are a creation of another monster. I'm accepting that you are, in fact, a high level monster. But, I will not accept you being rude to my clairvoyance. Do you understand?"

The monster nodded slowly. He may out rank her, but something made him admire her. She was assertive, but also didn't overawe. As she walked by herself towards the hub of the wheel-shaped city, Xellos concluded that she was something worth researching.