The Once-ler gave Soma a half smile of his own. “It probably wouldn’t be very pleasant, anyway.” There wasn’t anyone he considered an enemy, and as for friends… safe to say he wouldn’t have to worry about that kind of visitor.

He was surprised when Lingormr addressed him directly. With Soma providing the introductions for them, he had expected Lingormr to remain silent. Either way, it was a huge step up from their encounter last night.

The Once-ler shook his head. “No, not a title of any kind. I’m the Once-ler; that’s really all there is to it. Don’t mind if you drop the ‘the’.” It was pretty much the same thing he had told Soma when she had asked about his name as well.

The Once-ler looked closely at Lingormr, trying to figure the man out. “You know,” he said after a moment, “it’s really hard to believe you’re the same guy from last night.” In a way, it was a compliment, although quite frankly it would be difficult to leave a worse impression than Lingormr had.

After another pause, the Once-ler reached his hand out across the table. Handshakes were a proper way to finish introductions; you didn’t get far in the corporate world without learning that. Still, it was a funny situation. Here he was, offering a hand to the man who had crippled him the night before.

This institution was a very strange place.