She thinks, at first, that maybe she'd upset the girl. It seems like she doesn't like Palamedes very much — or maybe she just doesn't like anything very much. But she isn't being rude, so El has no reason to dislike her yet. She even concedes that Palamedes had taught her the right words.

"Neck-rome-answer," she echoes, much like she had the first time she'd heard the word. "You can make skeletons walk around, too?"