Oh, Vox. That was a lot of big words for a kid who had spent his summers running away from people on the Tundra to digest. At least his confusion over the cascade of complicated vocabulary put a pause on his cringing for the moment. Tal blinked, trying to parse what he had just heard and an Ascended might have spied a little wheel spinning in infinity behind his eyes. He opened his mouth as if to say something, then closed it, brow furrowing fiercely into a scowl of puzzled thought.
"Social... initia-what now?" Okay, hello was at least in his lexicon, and 'gesture' and... if he broke it down, he knew or could figure out what each word meant individually, it was putting them all together that was giving him a headache. "Y'mean y'want to... shake hands?" Tal hazarded. So close, and yet so far. "Uh..." He looked at those mostly normal cuticles and gave a hard shake of his head. "...Nah, no thanks."
It was amazing how confusion could short-circuit fear when the two emotions were usually so closely linked. Tal didn't exactly relax as he puzzled over Vox's uncertainty, the question being turned back on him with all the grace and power of a Wimbledon tennis service. "'Course it is. I think. Probably," he amended, his scowl deepening as he waded further into the treacherous waters of philosophical debate. Given that he'd left his water wings at home, it didn't bode well for his side. "I mean, are y'here t'interact by infectin' folks?"
"Social... initia-what now?" Okay, hello was at least in his lexicon, and 'gesture' and... if he broke it down, he knew or could figure out what each word meant individually, it was putting them all together that was giving him a headache. "Y'mean y'want to... shake hands?" Tal hazarded. So close, and yet so far. "Uh..." He looked at those mostly normal cuticles and gave a hard shake of his head. "...Nah, no thanks."
It was amazing how confusion could short-circuit fear when the two emotions were usually so closely linked. Tal didn't exactly relax as he puzzled over Vox's uncertainty, the question being turned back on him with all the grace and power of a Wimbledon tennis service. "'Course it is. I think. Probably," he amended, his scowl deepening as he waded further into the treacherous waters of philosophical debate. Given that he'd left his water wings at home, it didn't bode well for his side. "I mean, are y'here t'interact by infectin' folks?"
