"Jay," Raimut says, slowly and deliberately. He turns his head to look at Dist again, scrutinising him. "This would be Jay Zimin? Has the painted harpy got her claws into you?" He snorts and shakes his head. Now things are falling into place. Dist is so unlike the men Jay usually went for, but Raimut supposes preferences can change.

"I wasn't intending on establishing any contact with Jay," he adds and smiles, wryly. "Not without her say-so. She is welcome to make her own mind up, after all."

He watches Dist closely, from under hooded lids, to see how he reacts to Jay being called "she". This is going to establish some facts, such as whether Jay is still living as a man and how much Dist cares about him and his convictions.