"A person called Kit Gandir," Rutile says. "I would recommend speaking to Kit if you want to know more. We didn't get the chance to have a meaningful conversation about it; the comment was offhand."

"... conflict between Life and Death that didn't exist before."

"Correct me if I am wrong," they go on, after pondering Valdis's words for a time, "but it sounds to me as though it is the barriers themselves that are the problem. This talk of merging and all that. And with the sudden influx of Dreamfolk last month... "

They pause, thinking about it, but each possibility they consider holds too many loose ends to relinquish any theories. They simply don't have the background they need to make conjectures. As a debilitating sense of helplessness overcomes them, Rutile scowls, quashing the emotion down and letting frustration rule in its place. "These are truly difficult questions," they admit. "It sounds to me as though there are no Dreamfolk better suited to this than you."

(Privately, Rutile thinks Valdis may benefit from reaching out - but Rutile cannot ask of her what they would be capable of themselves.)