A few different lines on the islands, and mine's one of 'em, yep.

[ it's a short thing, the way he pauses with his hands poised over the bowl of egg yolks. something he forces himself through, bringing another egg down against the rim of the bowl and splitting out the white to let just the yolk drop down to join the others.

despite the hitch, his tone continues as genially as he can get it. ]

OK, quip ro pro-- [ oh, buddy it's quid pro quo but...close enough? ] I wanna see how much we actually have in common, now.