383 - More Annoyance than I Thought

Socks made a funny little sound and I realized I had squeezed him a little too hard in my surprise.  "Ili. Hello.  Serinas… this is my friend Ili.  I need to go talk to him in private for a moment, if you'll excuse me?  Ili is this your pet?  Your cat too--- no?  Oh good.  Here…"  I was almost babbling.  I needed to slow down.  Atzana was looking at me in that 'there's a story, here' look.