Simon blinked, a bit overwhelmed by the sudden onslaught of friendly chatter in an archaic accent. It's rather like being accosted by a museum exhibit. The younger man reminded him a bit of Kaylee for a moment, the way the both of them practically tripped over themselves in their hurry to say everything they could to a new acquaintance right away. That, combined with a seemingly genuine regard for his sister dropped Simon's guard a bit and he closed the distance between them to shake Karl's hand, after a quick wince at the thought of the bugs or germs or whatever it was that lived in the dirt that he was probably transferring to his own palm.
"Of course." Simon said politely in response to Karl's apologies. "We're used to a smaller environment as well. Before we came here we were on a transport ship with nine people including my sister and myself aboard," he responded a bit distractedly as he stepped to the side to examine the pots Karl had indicated as his sister's handiwork. "She's...having some trouble adjusting, I think, to all his," he admitted, a bit guardedly, not willing to reveal more about River than he had to. "I'm sure she'll want to come back up here soon. She always did love running off to wherever the closest pile of dirt was," he added, smiling a little sadly at the less complicated memories of his sister, holding up a worm, cocking her head in confusion at a lecture about ruining her best dress.