[ it occurs to ness, too belatedly to do any good, that she probably should not have mentioned rosamunde, her stolen, spirit-possessed skull, to a necropolis mortalitasi. she stares up at the professor, frozen for a moment, rapidly working on possible explanations—

and then smiles, bright and unconcerned. when in doubt, act like everything is normal, and most people won't question it. ]

A possessed skeleton—that's lovely, Rosamunde is my Manfred! She discovered me in the Necropolis when Riftwatch was there this past August—you recall the floor gave way, and two agents were lost for a time? Myself and the Doctor wandered the lower levels of the Necropolis for a short while before a skeleton led us to Rosamunde! She was so lonely and determined to leave with us, she gave me no choice in bringing her with me.

[ ness inhales, hopefully subtly, like she hasn't been breathlessly babbling in hopes of overloading the professor with so much information he doesn't think too hard about how she stole a skull, and then blithely moves on again, don't think about it too hard, don't think about it, just take her enthusiasm at face value, come on—

(she is, at least, telling the whole and entire truth. if he does call her out, that has to count for something, right?) ]

I would love to meet Manfred, and introduce him to Rosamunde! She'll probably be jealous he can get around unassisted—she's only a skull at the moment!