"Oh, that's fair. So, you're like, half Ceirene, a quarter tail Aluvai, a quarter ear Aluvai?"

He laughs. "Jungle-dweller and surface-dweller, please. And it's not the ears, everyone has the ears, it's the eyes. The inner surface of the planet is very dark. The jungle gets more light because the sun shines in from the edge."

"Right! Sorry. That's what I meant. Got the face parts confused." She tilts her head, looking at him. "You know, if someone had asked me this a few weeks ago I would probably not have thought 'long ears, claws, tail, and slit-pupiled eyes' would be particularly attractive, and yet here we are."

"Well. I can't complain."

"That I find you attractive?"

"It would be disheartening if we went to all this trouble only for you to say 'get away from me, beast-man'."

"If I ever call you anything like that the connotation will be quite different."

"Hmmm?"

"This might be something that does not translate well, and I am being utterly shameless. 'Beast' need not have a negative meaning."

"Maybe you need to explain more clearly what you mean."

"Mm, 'beast' can mean something like raw and rough and wild and untamed, and these are not always undesirable characteristics."

"I see what you mean, I think." (He's blushing slightly. He probably sees what she means.)

She does not blush. Blushing is not a thing she can do. "Yes, you probably do."

He laughs.

"You look cute when you blush, too."

"Thank you."

"I feel like I may be bothering you with the questions. What do you want to talk about?"

"You're not bothering me at all," he assures her. "But if you want to talk about yourself, that's good too."

"That's a bit broad," she laughs. "Um, I have a weird name for human standards, I'm seventeen, I have powers but am not a cape—thank you for not telling people about that, by the way."

"Would it be too personal if I asked you why you aren't?"

"It'd be considered personal, yeah, but my reason's pretty innocuous. I want to make sure I got control down before actually going out in situations where both I and other people could be harmed by my power."

"Very reasonable. Although I wonder what it is you have trouble controlling."

"I conjure things, and the method of conjuration is pretty fiddly in a way I can't really explain, I've been practicing for years and only really got it down a few months ago."

"Ah, I see."

"It may have been a bit reckless of me to show you it when we met."