[ Maia makes a mental note, once he gets a chance to visit the library, to look up what the word 'thugs' means, because at first he'd thought it was something specific to crabs but now he's pretty sure that's not the case, and it's just one more thing he's going to have to do on his long long list. Still, he shouldn't complain. Communication here could be much worse, considering what far-flung places everyone seems to be from.

He also thinks about what Taako said, about giving magic another try. It's an interesting idea... of course he's too old to ever be really good at it, but there might not be any harm in testing it out, learning a few things, if he can... ]

You have such conversations often enough to have an established system?

[ He asks it, amused but not quite sure whether or not Taako is kidding. Another thing he isn't so sure about... ]

We... would be happy to buy you a coffee, if we knew what it was, or where we might find it.

[ Is it another beverage? Some kind of food? Or perhaps it's a token of some kind. Maia feels his face heating, embarrassed at his own ignorance. At least he has the small consolation of knowing that word from this place is unlikely to travel back home. So no one in court will ever need to know what an ass he made of himself. And besides... it's not his fault, that there are so many strange things, in this place, that he's never heard of... ]