"I'm not that surprised that large enough shells to make buildings out of were kind of rare." It didn't really ping to him as snobby to say it, either. He'd grown up with money so he understood that it afforded things like rarer materials. She didn't say it in a snobby tone, so he understood what she meant by it.
"No, I wouldn't want to traumatize the fish, either." Whom he still totally wanted to talk to. They might not have anything that he could really relate to to talk about, but he wanted to hear what they said anyway. When would he get the opportunity to talk to a fish again? "Just remind me to focus on whatever we're doing if my mind starts to wander too much. I'm a little naturally scatterbrained, as I'm sure you can tell." His brain just moved too fast to keep on one subject for long. While he could disguise it when speaking to others normally, getting a look into his actual mind could probably be disorientating for anyone doing so, or just getting to hear it.
He nodded, searching around for a pumice stone. Maybe some more physical exertion would keep his mind more calm. Once he found one, he lifted it up for Ariel to see. "You ready?"