Well if he's staring then so will she. What a very attractive mostly humanoid person he is.

"I always want rings, obviously."

Entirely humanoid, except for his pale skin and sharp teeth.

"Well, they're only on offer if you're going to actually use them for the stated purpose."

"Aww, that's so sweet! Sure, I'll see Mahan and make sure I don't catch anything."

He hadn't thought about Mahan. Hopefully he won't feel - Slighted? Jealous? - Well, not his problem.

"In that case..." He takes off his shirt and reaches for hers.

He's very good at this, even if he doesn't do it that often. Being hyper-aware of your partner and having a lot of strength and stamina and nimble fingers will do that.

"You're amazing," she tells him afterward. "You're amazing. So how about those rings?"

"Why thank you! You're not half bad either."

He has absorbed how much a disease check should cost and gives her exactly six more rings than half of that.

"Thank you! Let me know if you want to do this again some time!"

"Will do. Not sure when that'd next be, but will do. Free ride back once you're dressed." He already is.

She dresses. She thanks him again, this time for the ride home.

"It was an excellent way to blow off steam and I am glad you suggested it! Goodbye for now, then."

It really was. He gets back to work reinvigorated. He has a big stockpile of basket-sized calculators now and arranges to ship them all to the big city Erasi to sell them all and get used to Har's large-scale markets, in two days, and fly himself along with. He gets Mahan's translation to the halfway point, including exciting subjects like "Understanding Drug Interactions", and "All About Respiration". He sews up a design project for Valanda.

And he flies to the mainland.