"...I guess it is, at that," Jalen accedes, eyetwitching at a yelp from someone across the room as they get picked up by Abraxas' ball. "This is the strangest party I have ever been to."

After that he gets quiet for a while, resisting the urge to bang his head against the table on purpose this time. He's terrible at small talk. "So, er...how's...life?"