There's a hint of a flinch as Toothless raises his head, but nothing more than a frown of consternation and a slight sway backwards. The way he sees it, without a phaser there's nothing much he can do to stun the creature from far away, and he's too close to run now, so even if it does attack, he wouldn't be any safer further away. That logic is very counterintuitive and not all that logical, he's aware, but curiosity killed the CMO... or something. And as luck would have it, the specimen (whatever it might be) is apparently friendly. Or at least not hostile, which is all one can ask, really.
"I, uh-- I'm sorry, I didn't quite catch that."
With any luck, this creature's method of communication will prove to be translatable. Whether the device that enables translation is his own Starfleet UT or something provided by Cape Kore, he doesn't know, but it might take a while for its matrix to get accustomed to a particular language. That had been the case with unfamiliar languages before, after all. Julian doesn't expect it - the way Toothless sits down is more like a pet than a person, if such distinctions can really be made when it comes to first contact type situations - but it's worth a try, at least. For the time being, he's content to assume a form of intelligence that is perhaps closer to a Terran canine, though of course he'll be polite anyway. Partly because he'd rather not patronise an alien but sapient life form, and partly because, well, he's English. He's even polite to chairs he walks into (unless it's early in the morning, in which case, of course, it is permissible to swear a blue streak).
"Do you understand what I'm saying at all?" Polite or not, the tone of voice is still more like one someone might use for a pet or small child. Maybe that's supposed to be calming.. possibly it's just because Julian has an unfortunate tendency to condescend. "Er, if you could blink twice for yes, please. And three times if you haven't a clue what I'm on about."
As he's been speaking, he's been drawing closer still. By this point, he's within arm's length and, taking something of a risk (but no more than he had been already, really), he kneels down so that he can look Toothless in the eye. It's not just for the purposes of establishing the creature's level of intelligence, of course - he wants to get as good a look as he can, too. Quite a lot of the creature's basic biology is immediately obvious, of course - a reptile of some sort, quadrupedal, with a good sense of smell and what looks like a set of wings (interesting, but not really unusual). Beyond that, there's not a lot he can immediately tell just by looking so, obviously, he reaches out a hand (carefully!) to touch its head. For this, he has no justification, but luckily Miles and Ezri aren't here to yell at him for being an idiot.
no subject
"I, uh-- I'm sorry, I didn't quite catch that."
With any luck, this creature's method of communication will prove to be translatable. Whether the device that enables translation is his own Starfleet UT or something provided by Cape Kore, he doesn't know, but it might take a while for its matrix to get accustomed to a particular language. That had been the case with unfamiliar languages before, after all. Julian doesn't expect it - the way Toothless sits down is more like a pet than a person, if such distinctions can really be made when it comes to first contact type situations - but it's worth a try, at least. For the time being, he's content to assume a form of intelligence that is perhaps closer to a Terran canine, though of course he'll be polite anyway. Partly because he'd rather not patronise an alien but sapient life form, and partly because, well, he's English. He's even polite to chairs he walks into (unless it's early in the morning, in which case, of course, it is permissible to swear a blue streak).
"Do you understand what I'm saying at all?" Polite or not, the tone of voice is still more like one someone might use for a pet or small child. Maybe that's supposed to be calming.. possibly it's just because Julian has an unfortunate tendency to condescend. "Er, if you could blink twice for yes, please. And three times if you haven't a clue what I'm on about."
As he's been speaking, he's been drawing closer still. By this point, he's within arm's length and, taking something of a risk (but no more than he had been already, really), he kneels down so that he can look Toothless in the eye. It's not just for the purposes of establishing the creature's level of intelligence, of course - he wants to get as good a look as he can, too. Quite a lot of the creature's basic biology is immediately obvious, of course - a reptile of some sort, quadrupedal, with a good sense of smell and what looks like a set of wings (interesting, but not really unusual). Beyond that, there's not a lot he can immediately tell just by looking so, obviously, he reaches out a hand (carefully!) to touch its head. For this, he has no justification, but luckily Miles and Ezri aren't here to yell at him for being an idiot.