She let him pull away without attempting to exert any force to keep him still, even if would be a futile movement, and she tried to figure out what had been going on behind his eyes for that brief, brief moment. "Using the word cognizant is all it takes?" she asked, half teasing, but the smile didn't quite reach her eyes. It was impossible to ignore the seriousness of the conversation, and she tugged on his hand and moved back from the table wordlessly. The kitchen suddenly seemed too small and too bright. "When I was small, I used to find very large words and use them intentionally. I somehow thought they would change my circumstances somehow."