"I mean, a lot of animals make noise just to make noise." As Astarion pulled his hand away, Eli felt a small sense of longing. "Or that you were just unusually smart and were trying at some form of communication." That probably came out wrong, making Eli dart his eyes to the side.

"Sometimes I have a lot on my mind and it helps to get it out there. Guess it's good that I didn't annoy you, seeing as we're going to be working together."

Suddenly Eli didn't mind that he was going to be spending a lot of time with Astarion and working closely with him.