[Elfangor gingerly prods at the goggles, wondering about the material components, and then holds them up to his main eyes and peers through them. Oh! That's what Mail meant about 'making everything orange.']
< How interesting... What are these for? Protection? > [He holds them up to his stalk eyes, blinking at Mail through the tinted lenses.] < Is there something dangerous in your planet's atmosphere that makes these necessary? What do you call them? >
[Elfangor notices the excessive blinking. Is it too bright here? The goggles do cut out a bit of light... Carefully, he places the goggles back on Mail's head. It's partially an excuse to poke at his hair.]
< How come you've only got fur on the top of your head? Doesn't it get cold on your planet? >
[Elfangor's eyes widen in alarm. He hadn't expected Mail to just rip his hooves off! But... he called them shoes, and apparently they are supposed to come off. Still, it is thoroughly unsettling to see him take them off. It looks incredibly painful. His hooves twinge in sympathy.]
[Mail's halfway through pulling his sock off, too, when he sees that he's kinda managed to freak Elfangor out.]
No, dude, it doesn't hurt! They're not, like, part of me. [He pulls the sock the rest of the way off and waves it.] See? Don't you guys have anything that you wear? What if it rains?
[Elfangor peers at Mail's foot when he sees that the pink skin of his legs continues on under the item he called a sock. Oh, that makes sense! So he really wasn't hurting himself. Still, it's very strange to witness.]
< We don't wear things! Our fur helps to regulate temperature. And it is fun to run in the rain! Why would you want anything to block it? > [He tilts his head curiously.] < We do have structures in our scoops - our homes - to keep electronic equipment dry, though. >
[Mail hunches his shoulders. He's been scolded often enough to go out and play with the other kids that he finds it embarrassing that he'd rather sit indoors with a book or a game.]
[If Elfangor had a mouth, he'd be frowning. He thinks that is sad, and it probably shows in his eyes.] < You mean you... you stay inside of some sort of structure? All the time? That sounds... > [Unbearable. He shakes his head.] < I live 'outside.' Not being able to feel the grass or the wind or see the sky all the time, I don't think I'd like that at all. >
[But if humans were so sensitive to temperature changes that they needed clothes, he supposed he could see why they would live that way. It just. Didn't seem the least bit pleasant.]
< They're called scoops because they're made by scooping out a portion of ground. > [He accompanies this explanation with a visual demonstration, moving his hand to mimic this.] < It creates a bowled-out area, and that's where we live. >
Um. Hi. Have you seen a double-a battery?
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< How interesting... What are these for? Protection? > [He holds them up to his stalk eyes, blinking at Mail through the tinted lenses.] < Is there something dangerous in your planet's atmosphere that makes these necessary? What do you call them? >
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They're called goggles. Ha ha, you need another pair!
[He feels weird without them, and is aware he's blinking too much.]
Umm, I guess if you went swimming, or somewhere really dusty, they'd protect your eyes. But mostly they just look cool.
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< How come you've only got fur on the top of your head? Doesn't it get cold on your planet? >
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It gets really cold! It snows, and stuff. We have coats and mittens and all to wear then.
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< You mean like... extra fur that you grow when it gets cold? >
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They're clothes, like this. [He flaps the hem of his shirt.] Only more layers. I guess if we had fur, we wouldn' need 'em so much.
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< You... Your skin comes off?! > [But wait, he said more layers, so--] < Oh, artificial skins! >
[He carefully reaches out to touch the skin that wasn't skin at all. A textile? How interesting!]
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Mine're all hand-me-downs. [The kids at school sometimes make fun of him for this, but Mail doesn't think Elfangor will.]
That means they belonged to other people first.
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[He still finds this rather bizarre, so he lets out a silent giggle and asks, half-joking,] < Do your hooves come off too? >
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[He plops down onto the floor to untie the laces of one, tongue poking out of his mouth as he concentrates, and finally tugs it off triumpantly.]
See? This is a sock, it's clothes too.
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< That...! It doesn't hurt to do that? >
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No, dude, it doesn't hurt! They're not, like, part of me. [He pulls the sock the rest of the way off and waves it.] See? Don't you guys have anything that you wear? What if it rains?
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< We don't wear things! Our fur helps to regulate temperature. And it is fun to run in the rain! Why would you want anything to block it? > [He tilts his head curiously.] < We do have structures in our scoops - our homes - to keep electronic equipment dry, though. >
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[Mail hunches his shoulders. He's been scolded often enough to go out and play with the other kids that he finds it embarrassing that he'd rather sit indoors with a book or a game.]
How come they're called scoops?
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[But if humans were so sensitive to temperature changes that they needed clothes, he supposed he could see why they would live that way. It just. Didn't seem the least bit pleasant.]
< They're called scoops because they're made by scooping out a portion of ground. > [He accompanies this explanation with a visual demonstration, moving his hand to mimic this.] < It creates a bowled-out area, and that's where we live. >
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