[Up she got, though she was carrying her ice cream with her, following along with the crabby little Alternian. She followed alongside at a respectful distance, and when the smell of boiling sea-life started to fade, she breathed a little more easily.]

So, a crab... how is it that you came to be raised by one instead of your parents? Or is that normal for your people, to be raised by crabs like that?

[She hadn't even gotten around to asking what he was. That could wait.]