"This is why I gave you permission," Merlan said with a slight gesture. "I just sais you could. Just remind me if I'm rambling on. I've not really been social in ages. Not properly, anyway. I just...would like to be polite and not rude."

She offers him a slightly crooked smile.

"Silence wishes to be filled," she said a beat later and laughed, the sound throaty and rich. "I have been here for a tick, that's true."