No, I'm all right, just wanted to let you know I'm back. I'll let you get back to what you were doing.

Thanks.

And she goes, and sits in her room and shakes for a little bit, and then reaches out to Tyelkormo. Hey, still around?

Nah, rode out, but I can come back, everything good?

Ran into a cultural difference that's probably less scary than it feels like, and I should probably talk to someone about it before I do anything dumb. Help?

I just ignore everyone, but yeah, sure.

Yeah, I can't get away with that as well as you can. Tempting, though.

It's super easy. You just tune 'em out whenever they start talking politics.

Works less well when just whether I'm here or not kinda is. That's not the problem, though.

What's the problem?

It's, um. Cultural differences are hard to explain? But kobolds really don't do... ownership, debt, that kind of thing. If we want to do a thing we do it, or if we want the result of doing a thing, there isn't any, like - she struggles with the concept for a few seconds and eventually comes up with - obligation? We don't do that.

Cool.

Yeah, I think so. But, like, it's cool except for the fact that I really don't understand those things, and trying to deal with people who do think that way - well, you guys are probably not going to try to kill me if I mess it up, but that's happened, and now Maitimo apparently feels obligated to me and that's kind of terrifying.

Can you just think about it like 'would be happy if the opportunity arose to do something nice for you'? Because same thing, except Maitimo doesn't feel happiness anymore, I don't think.

...maybe? That's already a different thing, though.

If they decide to do something nice for me that'll probably be okay - might depend on what it was - but being asked to react to them wanting to is alarming.

I don't think he expects you to react? It's customary to say something like "I'm glad I did it", with 'it' being whatever made someone want to do something nice for you, but you can skip that.

They did specifically ask if there was anything I needed. But I might be able to get them not to do that if it happens again.

Would that question bother you if it hadn't been accompanied by mentioning he wants to do something for you?

No.

So maybe just pretend at one point he said "I want to do something for you" and then some other time he said "do you need anything?"

I mean, telling someone you want to do something for them doesn't really happen, among kobolds, that's the kind of thing that's so hard to show without just doing it that nobody bothers.

Okay, so tell him that you don't want him to express things like that. Or I can, if you want.

Do you think you can explain it well enough?

Is there much to it besides 'don't express wanting to do something nice for someone in the future, it stresses the kobold out'?

I'm pretty sure they'll want to know why. And... I should probably do it myself, to show them they didn't scare me too badly.