[It does not escape his notice that the singularities of her appearance do not end with the mask and bandages. There are too the appendages protruding from her cloak’s hood like the ears of a bat, and the gleaming yellow of her eyes from within the shadow of the cowl. Yet while such details startle his mundane sensibilities, he has been on the planet long enough to know that there exist races of men that are not quite human. All the same she is, in his eyes, a young girl.]

I suppose I cannot produce any proof that I’ve not attempted to poison any children before...

[This he says lightly, as if playing along with an unspoken game.]

As for what I shall eat, I cannot say. I am not yet familiar with this city’s cuisine.