[he's raking a hand through his hair, distractedly. so inappropriate!] You're probably right. This is just--
[but he stiffens when he catches sight of the strange shape at the back of the boy's neck] Oh gods-- Are you all right? I mean, do you feel all right? [c, calmly, he doesn't want to alarm his companion. his hand shifts, to the back of his own neck, can he feel anything there, maybe someone put it on them and that's related to how they ended up in this situation...]