Tal was a champion at misconstruing tone and intention in the words of others, and he squirmed a little lower on the bench at the question. Was it a question? He wasn't sure, but he bit his lip and started to nod before pausing, dark brows pulling together in sudden worry. "Well... maybe not... not actually friends. Yet? Or, well..." He trailed off, looking down into his bottle for the answer to his uncertainty. "There's a guy who's from Halo, too. Left t'travel around. Now he's at th'House but..." The courier shrugged, realizing that he was putting the sled before the dogs. Sure, they had some things in common, and Thorn was easy on the eyes, but they'd only met once, after all. "Least, I figure maybe we could be friends... someday." And in spite of the tenor of the conversation so far, he seemed comfortable enough to mean friends in the traditional platonic sense, rather than the kind that came with other benefits.
As long as Thorn didn't live up to his name and needle Tal with so much teasing that the courier fled the courtesan's company. So why give the man any unnecessary ammunition and risk it?
When it turned out neither of them had been to Molly's, Tal scratched his nose and took a sip from his bottle; smaller this time, and slow enough to actually enjoy the taste rather than trying to get it into his system fast enough to overcome his embarrassment over the topic at hand. Hail, it had done it's job, though, and gotten him through the worst of it without Sunjata laughing at him!
"Thanks, 'Jata," he mumbled over the lip of the bottle, self-conscious in spite of the alcohol humming in his system. "I... y'know. Really 'preciate this. I know it's fuckin' weird but... yeah. Thanks."
As long as Thorn didn't live up to his name and needle Tal with so much teasing that the courier fled the courtesan's company. So why give the man any unnecessary ammunition and risk it?
When it turned out neither of them had been to Molly's, Tal scratched his nose and took a sip from his bottle; smaller this time, and slow enough to actually enjoy the taste rather than trying to get it into his system fast enough to overcome his embarrassment over the topic at hand. Hail, it had done it's job, though, and gotten him through the worst of it without Sunjata laughing at him!
"Thanks, 'Jata," he mumbled over the lip of the bottle, self-conscious in spite of the alcohol humming in his system. "I... y'know. Really 'preciate this. I know it's fuckin' weird but... yeah. Thanks."
