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Obviously this was some sort of trial for Raphael. There could be no other explanation for why Sparkles continued to press on with such an extraordinary topic of conversation when she had been given such a polite and discrete opportunity to abandon the subject, without Raphael being forced to descend into bluntness. Though given the mare's comfort with that particular trait, he was beginning to wonder if it would really be so rude in this situation.

As it was, he could tell that she found a great deal of humor in the situation, though he had no idea why. All that was happening was he was becoming more and more uncomfortable, and he rather hoped he was mistaken. After all, it was most uncivil to take pleasure in the discomfiture of another.

If he were a different sort of Soquili, he might call her out on this fact. However, he wasn't, so he couldn't. But he could refuse to play this game. "I would prefer a different subject of conversation, or silence if such is your preference. But I would prefer not to engage in this particular discussion any further." For Raphael, that was blunt and verging on discourteous, but he couldn't really see any other way out.

Ask and ye shall receive…

The quote popped into Raphael’s brain out of nowhere as, in very short order, he found himself standing on his own in the wake of Sparkles’ withdrawal. He blinked a few times, looking after the mare with an unreadable expression. If he were to be perfectly honest, he didn’t know what to make of the situation. On the one hand, he’d gotten his wish; they weren’t speaking of the very personal and awkward subject of…physical intimacy any more. On the other hand, he had quite effectively been rejected as a conversational partner. Since he hadn’t intended to become a conversational partner, he ought not to be upset about it.

Still, it was probably pride that made his abandonment sting a bit, and he shook himself slightly as though attempting to ‘shake off’ those thoughts. It was probably for the best that she was gone, if she was only wanting to take about intimate subjects. He could never bring himself to discuss such things with a relative stranger, so had they continued on, then there would probably have been annoyance cropping up sooner rather than later. No, they were not suited to having a sensible, friendly conversation, so it was best that he left things at that.

It would have been nice to have been able to end on a more courteous remark, though. Sighing, he lowered his head to the water to take the drink he’d originally come this way for. Obviously his social skills still needed a lot of work.