Okay!? [ he says, still looking for all the world like he might have a panic attack, and then, more respectably: ] Oh, um, yeah! Yes. Yes, I'm... Not a squid. I shouldn't have ever been a squid. I think that's probably, um, sacrilegious somehow?

[ and also really gross. but even if that part's way more important, he can't just say that. ]

Oh, I, um... [ "i wouldn't want to" only does so much when you're new and alone and also completely terrified out of your own mind. ] How much would I owe you...?