She appeared to have offended him. Re-l wondered vaguely if she should feel guilty about that, but decided it was for the best. It might stop him flirting with her. And she couldn't afford to get close to anyone here. She was quite sure of that. She was all alone.

But she didn't want him to be huffy and offended either. Huffy and offended people were annoying and sulked at you and didn't talk. And Re-l was still curious. She wondered what the best peace offering would be.

"My name," she said, out of the blue. "They call me Masa, but if no one is listening, then my name is Re-l."