[ He nods along as he listens with the look of a grad trying to commit the explanation to memory. ]

Something about cellular decay, maybe? Cotton fiber is inert in a way that a cotton flower isn't- not to mention the water content. [ He pauses a beat and realizes he's started to hypothesize without even introducing himself. ]

Uh. Alex Price by the way. My degree's in vet sciences, but my life's weird enough to justify having to know a little bit about everything. [ "What you don't know CAN kill you" may as well be his family's motto. It's certainly written in his grandfather's journals often enough to be. ]