A Two-Month-Old Girl

"Of course not!" Frank immediately declared. "I've eaten it myself, and nothing happened!"

Honestly, that wasn't terribly reassuring, but at only Sequence 6, you probably couldn't bring about a transformation on this scale... unless you did it under the Earth Mother's influence.

"Thank you, then." Neph smiled and nodded, then brought the potato to her lips and took a tentative bite.

The texture, indistinguishable from beef, made Neph's eyes widen. Amid her surprise, an image flashed past: she saw Frank digging up the soil with great care and retrieving a potato, his expression full of excitement.

"..." Neph pressed a hand over her eyes. "What a... strange experience."

Frank left in high spirits after hearing her appraisal. Neph promptly locked the door, threw herself onto the bed, let out a long breath, and closed her eyes.

Sleeping on the floor was hardly pleasant. Back in bed, Neph lay utterly at ease. After a few breaths, she opened her eyes and called out tentatively, as though something had suddenly occurred to her:

"Bernadette?"

Pea vines cascaded down at her call. Neph looked up as vine after vine descended, covering the entire room. A figure appeared at the end of the passage.

She was tall, with chestnut hair hanging loosely down her back. She wore a white shirt, its style close to what Neph remembered, but slightly different, beneath a deep black jacket. A slender rapier hung at her waist. The moment Neph saw her, she couldn't help laughing:

"You ought to wear a tricorn hat."

"Why?" Bernadette asked evenly as she landed on the floor.

"Because every pirate captain I've seen wore one." Neph shrugged. "Hmm... you've been watching me for quite a while, haven't you?"

This wasn't entirely a guess. The crew's burning gazes had provided some cover, but Neph