Hearing him talk was giving Ilia a headache. Normally she was deeply interested in getting to know new cultures, but Gamzee's dialect had not translated well through the institute's language filter. She rubbed irritably at her forehead.

"Do you sound just as ridiculous to everyone else in your species?" The words were out her mouth before she could stop them. Well, no use trying to be nice when she couldn't very well call him a friend. But he still deserved some respect, particularly if this was related to some religion as he seemed to be implying.

"Sorry," she hissed slowly through gritted teeth. She took a deep breath again, trying to calm her thoughts before speaking any more. "Look. I'd be happy to hear about trolls and your customs some other time. But the fact is that someone important is dead and you had a hand in it. Though..."

She bit her lip. Already she could feel the rage draining away into despair. Rose was dead. She was really, honest-to-god dead. How could Ilia have let this happen? "Though, getting angry with you won't solve anything. And it wasn't... entirely your fault. Ugh!"

Ilia buried her face in her hands. Why did this have to be so difficult? Martin Landel had forced this child's hand, and then made him forget it had ever happened. She couldn't be angry with him over this. It wasn't fair to Gamzee. She should never have thought Landel would ever play fair.