Crowds of people bustled around them, some hurrying past on their way to somewhere important, some dawdling as they took in the expanse. Children, parents, businesswomen, lovers, workers, tourists, friends and loners went about their day, wearing clothing too foreign to have ever been fashionable, Laurel thought, but with universal glances and cares and insecurities. Some seemed taller than normal, with pointed features and odd shaped ears, others shorter and broader, with long braded beards. A few of the children also wore beards, Teddy noticed, while Pinkerton realised a lack of weaponry. The smell of commuters under cover of soap, the stench of a city thoroughfare wafted over them all, with a strong essence of Wonder. The temperature rose a few degrees with the crush of the crowd.
And
