Why, because I feel bad about being careless and hurting you?

"Most recent item on the list, I guess?"

Not-quite-a-laugh exhalation.

"But it's an impressively long list. - is there a longer version of the story of how you died?"

This takes a while to pass vetting.

After I publicized summoning I made it known that I'd been a summoner before, though not that I'd been behind distributing the book. I started teaching classes on summoning. When I was 22, someone who I think but can't guarantee had tracked down who was behind "Revelation" (the publicization event), possibly through a daeva I'd summoned, located me. He came into my classroom while I was teaching, armed with a ranged weapon that hasn't been invented yet in this year, and shot me in the head, and I died.

"Why?"

I suspect but cannot confirm that he resented my having disrupted his business, which I think was based around having summoned daeva make scarce things for him to sell.

"That's so tragically stupid."

Nod nod.

"Fairies can't die of violence unless we've run up some really atrocious misfortune or are sufficiently in someone's debt."

...what happens instead?

"What would happen if you tried is an interesting question. Usually the wound is not deep or well-aimed enough to be lethal and the attacker is dropped with a stunning headache and can't try again."

I intend to pass on finding out what would happen if I tried.

Snort. "Good plan."

I agree.

"Should I go? - I forget what we were doing before but I probably won't be up to it for a little while."

Cam folds his wing up. Don't let me keep you. I'm really sorry.

"I didn't mean 'I prefer to', just, you might've had plans aside from wingsnuggles and really boring dice games -"

I didn't really have an agenda, we were just talking before.

"I assume this is some kind of cultural difference but it's really hard to discern whether you derive any value from my presence from most of the things you communicate about it."

How do faeries normally signal that besides, like, voluntarily hanging out with each other?

"'Should I stay' usually gets a yes, or a no, or a 'I'd be happy to do you a favor' or 'I consider you owed one', or - you don't want to be unclear about what things are for, right, that makes it unpredictable how much they'll cost -"

This takes a while of looking at his paper for a reply to pass muster too. That makes sense but it still strikes me as sort of rude. Even with you having asked the question in the first place a straight yes or no seems like it's presuming I have more information than I feel like I ought to claim about what else you would be doing with yourself and how you feel about your options.

" - see, I feel like I was clear about that too - you are wonderful and on that account I'd almost always prefer to be here if this happens to be valuable, with the exceptions being urgent things I needed to work on and 'I am supposed to finish a report on trade goods in the next hour' is the kind of thing I'd mention."

Operating on that assumption feels rude even though you have now said so explicitly in words! And if I try to screen that off I still have the sense that not having a specific plan for what to do prevents me from having a good answer about whether to do it.

Except insofar as I seem to be keeping you talking by default but if you'd benefit from going and lying down or something seriously please don't let me keep you.