Hey, he brought it up, all she said was "airship plans". In fact, Ness's mind wasn't even on the houseboat argument, but they're there now, so sure, let's do this.

Our home, indeed. She's ready to put money on it now.

"I agree with you, for the record," she really does, she's not just being a brownnoser, "it seems like a terrible idea to put something so flammable in the air."

Whatever else might come after that is derailed by a sound of shuffling from behind them. The skeleton shambles into the violet light cast by the orb above her head and Ness yelps, jumping closer to Stephen, but doesn't touch him. The skeleton isn't... immediately attacking, which is not to say that it won't, but for now it's just... moving. After a moment of waiting for something to happen, Ness speaks up.

"...hello? Can we help you?"