" - about the existence of dyslexic people?"

" - yes?"

"...why?" asks Ladah.

" - do you not -"

"They do not."

"Well I dunno how to explain it."

"If there's something wrong with someone - can't read, walks or talks funny, injured irrecoverably somehow, infirm, funny - then it's just horribly unpleasant to be reminded of them and everyone else'll be on edge in their presence and the decent thing to do if you can't fix it is to not bother people."

- Isama slaps him. And immediately looks sort of appalled at herself.

- he starts to demorph. Matirin puts a hand on his shoulder and he stops. 

"We," he says when he has a mouth back, "haven't given you a hard time about obsessively loathing your sanitation workers."

"You don't get to insult my family because our species also has an irrational and horribly hurtful aversion to some of its people."

"And we're working on fixing that!"

"We work very hard on curing all manner of illness and disability!"

"My sister was real excited about aliens," Isama mutters.

"Not something your technology can fix," he says curtly to his alt. 

Matirin sighs. 

"I'm sorry I slapped you," Isama adds after a moment.

"Are you? Why?"

"It's not a responsible way of dealing with vile things people say."

Andalites are maybe having a private thought-speak conversation. 

"It would have been much more responsible to loudly announce that her name is Klimati and she almost came with me today but had a prior commitment going out to a public place with a friend of hers," says Isama loudly.

"And if apparently no one minds then I suppose that's fine and well."

"It's a good thing I didn't bring her along you would have broken her fucking heart -"

"It is a good thing you didn't bring her along, yes."

Scowl.

"I'm leaving."

"It was nice meeting you."