Um, in that case, is it okay if I join you?

[Niko's actually going to start gathering some cookies and maybe a plate or two of cake from the table -- she prefers strawberry but she'll grab the nearest reddish one, which is probably cherry -- and then stand here on her tippy-toes waiting for permission...]

I don't really want to shout in a place like this, especially with the echoes and...

[And, well, everyone else talking over each other. It seems way easier just to go to the Queen, obviously??]