As soon as the words left his lips, the whispering stopped. A silent moment ticked by, then another, and still no response from the ghostly man in the corner. Well. So much for that. Then, unexpectedly, accented words drifted softly through the air—an explanation, an apology. Dresden’s attention turned back to the stranger. “Singing? Hmm.” He considered that for a moment, scrutinizing the other. “Don’t apologize,” he said, waving his hand, dismissing it. “Sing if you want. Sing loud, sing proud.” He paused at that, instantly regretting the words. It wasn’t as if he minded the singing, no, but he didn’t need to go encouraging him to start up a racket. Though, judging from the other’s unnervingly timid demeanor and unnecessary apology, he doubted that that would really be a problem.
The silence that he’d previously believed to be so sweet now twisted into something more uncomfortable. The stranger’s nervous behavior had a way of stirring up Dresden’s own nerves. The warrior was usually unfazed by social situations, but there was something about stuck in a room with an obviously frightened individual that was beginning to put him on edge. Indeed, beneath the rattling of the boat and the pounding of the waves, the comparative silence between them became terribly palpable. He felt like if he made any sudden moves, he might send the skittish fellow into a nervous breakdown. What the hell could have happened to this guy to make him so fearful?
The husky awkwardly scratched at a spot behind his ear, eyes searching about the room as if something distracting would present itself to him. Unfortunately nothing magically popped out of the dull room, and his icy gaze wound up returning to the frightened stranger. “So, uh. The name’s Dresden.” He was grasping at straws to begin with, but introducing himself seemed like a step in the right direction. It was only polite, considering he’d let him stay in the room, despite his obvious discomfort. He hoped that at the very least he could show the other male that he could rest at ease. Another look at his frightened expression and avoidant gaze told him that probably wouldn’t be so simple, but Dresden could see no harm in giving it a shot anyway.