[Even so, she's caught him off guard for a moment there. He straightens his shoulders a little, tilting his head forward in interest.]

They said that? [So you can wriggle more out of them with a little work. He's been ignoring the native presence on the network so far, but maybe it might be more worth digging into than he first imagined.

... he's getting distracted. Unkindly. Quickly, he drags himself back to the matter at hand.] ... in any case- and I'm not usually one to say this- it may be best to live for the moment for the time being. If you want another birthday party, go ahead and have one. ["you" or "they" or... you know what never mind]