[Ferran pauses his brushing and drops his arms with an exasperated sigh. Maybe the natives here don't always need them, but for the Mirrorbound?]

Why are people so touchy about it? I almost get it, but it's too important to avoid. [He shakes his head, brushing off the last of that elbow's dust into the bag before switching to the other hand.]

It's not like I don't have hangups about connecting my soul to somebody, but at least a bond doesn't hurt anyone.