"I try," Erin agrees, raising her glass. She's smiling in spite of herself; on the one hand, experience with Hedge creatures should mean she gets the willies here, and on the other hand she can't imagine a mental parasite that could beat Phil. What are you going to do, pillage his endless memories for something to use against him? Fuck that. Anything that can crawl into Phil's head and manage to crawl back out instead of being trapped in Groundhog Day forever deserves to pilot him around.

She sips her drink and makes a pleased noise. "Thanks for having Phil's back, Symbiote. Genuinely."

Beat.

"...It would be really funny if I just said that and one of y'all had to clarify that you're attached via spinal column."