Welcome to Gaia! ::

A quiet 'Oh' was all Banda could manage in reply, eyes lingering no Em only until she finished speaking before returning to the pebble, which he'd kept in his out of the corner of his eye throughout the explanation. His smile faltered somewhat. Kill it? It was only a pebble! Admittedly, it was rather creepy and..spiky, but that was alright, right? It wasn't like the pebble could help it!

Shaking his head slowly, he turned his eyes back to Em and straightened up somewhat. "It can't be all that bad... One of my, um, brother's...Well, let's just say this pebble reminds me of him. And he was kinda...vicious as a baby, but he straightened up as he got older. I'm sure this pebble could do the same..." He smiled.

Rather than feel insulted, Banda was somewhat comforted by her words. They had been his own thoughts all along, after all, and not everyone would agree with them. He knew this from experiance. It was also a thought that most of Moo's family shared... specifically the two SMs in it. They could very easily relate. Actually, this one might fit in rather well. Except, unlike the others, this one seemed, well...dangerous.

Nonetheless, Banda was strangely drawn to the little pebble. It really did remind him of Lyrus. The pair would probably get along very well... And if it were anything like Lyrus, Banda could tolerate it, at least. The problem would be taking care of it... But that shouldn't be too difficult. And, if all else failed, he could sneak back into Moo's, maybe. She never went onto the third floor or above... "I could take it... for Moo," he quickly added, assuming Moo's mind ever straightened itself out. "I'm sure she'd be happy to have it. You know how she is. And I've wanted another SM around since Isto moved out..."

Banda brightened up immediately with her nod, chuckling softly and replying with a nod of his own, then waiting until she had left to turn back to the pebble. Quirking a brow, he sunk down to sit on the floor and folded his legs, peering down at the strange pebble, not quite sure how to address it. Finally deciding that any words were better than none, he began, "So, um...You're going to come live with me now. And Moo, and our family, and, um.." What exactly did one say to a pebble?

The pebble wasn't helping matters. It remained curled almost warily in the corner, strange demonic tail coiled around itself, the idle twitching of its tail the only sign that it was 'listening'. A rather menacing sight, all in all. Wary.

That was Banda's first thought, at any rate. The second, surprisingly enough,w as fear, though it really made sense when you thought about it. Banda couldn't remember his pebble days, but, theoretically, as advanced as some of the babie SMs hatched, wouldn't it make sense that the pebbles could at least understand some things? Maybe it knew how people looked at it? Maybe it knew Pove had wanted to throw it in the lake? Had Banda been in the pebble's shoes, he know he wouldn't be trusting anyone.

Cracking a smile, he slowly reached a hand out towards the pebble, speaking softly, reassuring, "You don't need to worry anymore... I'm going to take care of you, even if Moo can't right now because she's loony, and once she gets better everything'll go back to normal, and... You'll love Moo's house, I promise. She's really ni-" Banda cut off with a soft yelp of surprise, snatching his now-bloodied hand back.

Almost calmly, the pebble wiped its sharp tail clean on the floor, resuming the twitching once more.

Banda took a moment to assure himself the wound wasn't bad--it was more blood than injury--then calmly reached out once more and absently traced a finger along the one of the pebble's 'claws'. The motion took the pebble by surprise and, stunned, it didn't react. taking this as a good sign, Banda continued the petting, gradually moving to the pebble's 'shell' and, just as gradually, coaxing it onto his other hand. The pebble, enjoying the unexpected attention, followed his motions without complaint.

Step one, complete.

Banda nearly jumped out of his socks with the light tap, managing not to only due to his position. However, his body did jolt slightly from the surprise, and even as his head snapped up to see who was there, he grimaced and looked away, clenching his teeth against a cry; the pebble, surprised by banda's sudden movement, had lashed his sharp tail tightly around Banda's wrist, the end of which was presently cutting into the side of his wrist.

He took a moment to try and pry his wrist free, gave up when the pebble only tightened his grip, and glanced back up at Em just in time to catch her words. The pain immediately forgotten, he climbed to his feet and gladly accepted the letter with him free hand, positively beaming. "Really? Thank you! I'd been worried about that..."

Banda's mouth literally dropped open with the offer, and remained such as he began to protest, snapping shut only when she held up her hands. He hesitated, finally nodding his agreeement even as his protests began a new. "Are you sure? I'm not sure I'm exactly qualified... And I've never taught anyone before. But I could use the job," he admitted, trailing off with another nod. "Umm... Well, yeah, if there's no one else, I'd be more than happy to take the job. Thank you, Em!"

Thankfully, Banda had noticed Tawn in time to catch his words, and chuckled softly in reply, almost as if he were trying to muffle it. With Em's words, however, he blushed faintly and glanced down to the pebble still twined defiantly around his wrist...then angled his hand slightly to hide the blood dripping down the side. That wouldn't make him look very good, now would it?

Clearing his throat, he tucked his hand--and the pebble--closer to his stomach, then, dinner forgotten, pocketed his letter and nodded for the door. "I'd better be going... It's late, and I have a feeling tomorrow'll be a busy one. Thanks again, Em.."