[ The humiliation is met with surprise, but it’s quickly followed by his own embarrassed recognition. He quickly realizes the mistake of the question, even if not the extent. Of course she’d already thought about that, surely, and though her silence is a bit too long, he’s fairly quick to fill it. ]

—Excuse me if that was an obvious question. I did not mean…

[ It’s his turn to trail off, and as she gets to business, he returns to it too with a awkward clear of his throat. He won’t intrude upon her feelings, since he’s also not the best at dealing with them. ]

Beloved?

[ At least his incredulity and distaste will likely offer as good of an apology as anything. ]

Idiots, then, all of them. Demons will say anything to get what they want, and they won’t mean a word of it. That’s the whole point of them, at least so far as what Jahan explained. He didn’t even want us talking to the one he caged.

[ Which, on that note. He clicks his tongue, but turns thoughtful. ]

It’s too bad that there’s not something like the Souce Collars but for demons. I guess that would be the same thing as Binding a demon, I assume, where you’re declawing it… But killing it outright is better.

[ Another thing to consider… He’s no expert like Jahan, but surely there’s literature on demons, common and insidious as they are. And if he’s able to create something from Source…

It’s something to consider, he decides. But, for now, he doesn’t have a serious option to offer. So in lieu of that, he defaults to joking sarcasm. ]

Well, there’s always slicing the vocal cords.