[ If it seems there is more to Daniel's feelings than the sort of worry Chozen would expect, his first internal rebuttal must be that he does not know what sort of worry he should expect. Fleeting paralysis should trigger concern, surely, but where that fits into a world where Chozen had been a squid only hours before, he cannot know.
Chozen may be calm, and doing his utmost to remain so for the sake of others, but he is not oblivious to the seriousness of the situation. It is as he said not so long ago: there is simply no problem to taking one problem and making two out of it without reason. If Daniel's lingering troubled look and marked hesitance forebode worse trouble than already exists in this land of fantastical horror, that is only all the more reason to maintain his equanimity. So that is the second ward against making too much of it.
The third is, as Daniel himself points out, the place. This seems like the sort of catching up better done over a warm drink in a walled room. ]
We will find out.
[ He isn't serious about the prospect of not being able to. Another gentle joke, tossed underhand, easy to catch. He accepts Daniel's hand without qualm and makes his way to his feet, taking a moment to be grateful for the pins and needles that blossom in their soles. ]
Thank you.
[ The pulse of his grip is not truly necessary, but the impulse seizes him. He lets go after that, and brushes the seat of his robes clean of sand before he inspects his cold drink. Sadly, he reaches into the cup and produces a sodden clump of stray seaweed, rehydrated by the hot chocolate to a lumpy, slimy mess. ]
Ah. Not so good for my teeth anyway. [ He drops the seaweed to the sand, but hangs onto the cup. He will not contribute to littering. ] Where will we be going?
no subject
Chozen may be calm, and doing his utmost to remain so for the sake of others, but he is not oblivious to the seriousness of the situation. It is as he said not so long ago: there is simply no problem to taking one problem and making two out of it without reason. If Daniel's lingering troubled look and marked hesitance forebode worse trouble than already exists in this land of fantastical horror, that is only all the more reason to maintain his equanimity. So that is the second ward against making too much of it.
The third is, as Daniel himself points out, the place. This seems like the sort of catching up better done over a warm drink in a walled room. ]
We will find out.
[ He isn't serious about the prospect of not being able to. Another gentle joke, tossed underhand, easy to catch. He accepts Daniel's hand without qualm and makes his way to his feet, taking a moment to be grateful for the pins and needles that blossom in their soles. ]
Thank you.
[ The pulse of his grip is not truly necessary, but the impulse seizes him. He lets go after that, and brushes the seat of his robes clean of sand before he inspects his cold drink. Sadly, he reaches into the cup and produces a sodden clump of stray seaweed, rehydrated by the hot chocolate to a lumpy, slimy mess. ]
Ah. Not so good for my teeth anyway. [ He drops the seaweed to the sand, but hangs onto the cup. He will not contribute to littering. ] Where will we be going?