Freya did get smacked in the face by one of Mags' flailing arms, which smarted, but she figured it was a small price to pay for an act of heroism. (She would also be able to use this real-life experience in her next short story for Creative Writing Club, which was now going to feature a similarly dramatic scene.)

"Better?" she asked, then realized if she couldn't hear Mags, the opposite was probably true. Undeterred, Freya crouched down next to her and gave her a double thumbs up and a questioning smile. Mags looked pretty queasy, so Freya reached out to rub her back, figuring that if she'd misread the situation then Mags could just bat her away.