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As they waited, the King and Diego struck up a conversation, but they spoke softly enough that Hector couldn't really make out what they were saying.

While the relative silence drew out, Hector's mind returned to Garovel. 'So, uh... you really can't tell if the Goalanets have any of their own reapers around?'

'That, I cannot,' said Garovel, again with the echo of privacy. 'The souls all seem pretty normal to me.'

'And no aberrations, right?'

'Not that I can tell,' said Garovel, 'but those are difficult to sense at all until they're right in front of me. Then they're obvious as shit.'

'Oh yeah. Hmm.' Then a thought struck him, and he knew at once that he had to ask one more question. 'Hey, what do reapers look like to you?'

Garovel regarded him for a moment with that hollow gaze of his. 'Care to guess?'

Hector's mouth flattened. 'Not really.'

'You sure? Honestly, I've been wondering when you would ask me that for the longest time. Seems a shame to just come right out and tell you.'

'Garovel...'

'C'mon, just take one guess. It'll be fun.'

Hector mulled it over for a second. '...Giant pandas,' he said for no particular reason.

'What? No. Why would you guess pandas, of all things?'

'I dunno. It was just the first thing that popped into my head.'

And somehow, the reaper looked positively disgusted with him. 'What about my personality or my history made you think that I would see my fellow reapers as giant pandas?'

'Garovel, I really didn't think about it that much.'

'I can tell.'

'Hey, you never said my guess had to make sense.'

'Doesn't matter. Your guess sucked so hard that I want a do over. Take another crack at it.'

Hector had to hold back a sigh. 'This is getting annoying...'

'Guess one more time. And think about it a little harder.'

'I don't want to know that badly, Garovel.'

'Guess. Again. As my servant, I order you.'

'Wow.'