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Xander ignored him. 'There are also your own abilities to take into consideration. When you were initially eaten, for example, your body should have been broken down into its base elements, but that clearly did not happen, as you are still a whole, sentient being. Could you explain to me why that is the case?'

He almost just shrugged and said no. But he actually had a guess. And he supposed he couldn't put off asking about this, anymore. "...Do you know anything about aura?"

Xander took his time responding. '...I do, indeed. And that would explain some things.'

It would? Hector would've liked to hear that, but he felt like he was already treading on sensitive ground with this subject. If he made it obvious that he was still quite ignorant about aura, then maybe Xander would be less inclined to speak about it. For operational security or whatever. The Vanguard was like that, wasn't it? Especially because Sparrows and auras were closely related topics.

Maybe he should just come right out and say that he knows about Sparrows, too. Hector was virtually certain that the Magician of Light would know about them. Whether the man would actually share anything was another matter.

He decided against bringing them up. He didn't want to start fielding questions about why he knew about them. That would begin to feel like a betrayal of Pauline and Hanton's expectations.

'Are you familiar with wrobels?'

Welp.

Hector had to take a moment to process that question. It threw a rather large wrench into the turning gears of his mind.

It seemed like Xander didn't even need him to admit it, however. 'The fact that you are not immediately asking me what I am talking about is answer enough, I think.'

Fuck. Hector thought about trying to just outright lie his way through this, but considering how straightforward Xander had been with him thus far, that seemed wrong. And there was the fact that he couldn't think of a lie that sounded in any way believable.

So he elected to say nothing.

'Your silence is both understandable and admirable. They are magnificent creatures in need of protection and secrecy. I have been entirely truthful with you, so I hope you will believe me when I say that I am a friend to all wrobels. Even the surly, unlikable ones.'

Hmm. The guy said earlier that he wasn't good at being persuasive, but here and now, Hector was quite tempted to take him at his word.