"I've been a foreigner in a few places but not here, obviously, so I can't really comment on the experience."

"What sorts of trips have you been on?"

"This and that; I studied abroad for a few years and I've done a few tours for performances and skill sharing and the like since then."

"What kinds of skills does one tour with?"

"Well, I'm mainly a singer, so mostly that, sometimes mixed with acting or dancing or both."

"Kyeo used to be able to sing really well."

"So I heard."

Kyeo shrugs awkwardly. Sarham squeezes his hand.

"Caring about singing and then not being able to is about the most tragic thing I've ever heard of.  But hopefully I'll be able to help out some."

"That's very kind of you."

"I suppose so."

"Is it weird to say that, here? We have a lot of idioms like that but maybe it's odd when everyone is, uh, kind."

"No, I think this is genuinely an above-average amount of kindness, if I'm going to be spending a lot of time on it - only it's so sad that I couldn't not, really, not and still be me."

"I am at your disposal."

". . . What?  No.  Backwards of that."

"- well, I don't know what your intended treatment plan is, so I cannot direct it."

"I guess.  That's a weird way to think about something that's for you, though."

"...I apologize."

" - No?"

"She means that as in no, you don't have to apologize," Zarian clarifies.

"Right, it's that - none of this is for me.  So whatever's good for you, is . . . you do actually want this, right?  Because I was under the impression that you did, but it's fine if you don't."  She reaches over to pat his arm but pauses before getting there, pats the table next to it instead.

"He wants to sing again," says Sarham, "and this is an - etiquette mismatch, I think, he's trying to be polite and not too inconvenient to help."

"Okay.  It's - from my side, it's very flattering and prestigious, to be the one who gets to try and help out the alien, so you don't have to worry about that.  Less so than if I weren't dating the person who decides that, but Zar has good judgement and wouldn't let something like that influence her decision."

"Also I am dating you in large part because you're the best vocalist around."

"Well.  That too."