...Oh. Okay, then. Mako withdraws the hand, already feeling herself becoming smaller. She does not want to antagonize anyone, or at least not anyone who does not deserve it, but she can already see how she is sinking into that worn role for herself. Be respectful. Be unassuming. Defer to authority.

Not if I have anything to do with it, whispers Raleigh. Panic swells in her chest and she hastily turns to look away.

"Yes," she says quietly. She has learned that not all things that appear human necessarily are so. More hesitant, she asks, looking out over the water, "are you?"