At once, the polite waiting turned into sharpness. Ilyien glanced about, ensured they were not too close to anyone at the moment, then dropped his voice. "Do you see in color?" he asked very quietly. The question, Ilyien imagined would be so foreign to anyone born of this world, anyone belonging to this world, that it would seem unintelligible. But someone who knew what color was, would find the question disturbing. Ilyien listened, really listened to the man and his reactions.
If this man were new to this place, and if he had no one to introduce him to the differences here, it could go very poorly for him. It seemed, then, that it was Ilyien's responsibility to ensure that the man was informed.
Fortunately, the shipyard paid Ilyien weekly. He had some money to give. If this were someone who didn't belong here, then that money would be better spent on someone who had none at all.
"Might I join you?" he asked, gesturing to the chair before him.