Perhaps Banshee's merely tired. If he is taciturn, then it is no trouble. Matthias senses no misdirection from him, nothing untoward. Strangeness can fade, and to him, this is not a difficult conversation by any means. There may not be the answers that anyone would like, but is this a situation anyone wants?

He can't tell what the rifles are, except generally. The design is unfamiliar, so the specifics of their workings escape him. His own is kept away, firmly locked out of reach of anyone who might try to use it; there's limited ammunition, and he has no need to flex on base. The knives will do. His less than inviting exterior does the rest.

'That is true,' he says. 'Trassel and I had been separated for a time, at home, and here we are together, from the eggs. Have you met someone you recognise?'