>Wow, it hates you!
It sure does! What am I supposed to do here?

>Just cry, make him feel bad for hurting your feelings
Somehow, I don’t think that’s going to work.

>Take a few deep breaths to calm down.
Yeah, I just need to ... concentrate for a bit. It’s gone back to staring at me dismissively for the moment.

>keep yourself in a neutral state and keep your breathing and reactions steady.
I really can’t do that at will!

>Is there such a thing as too cold for a criai?
There’s such a thing as too cold for me. I also don’t know how to change the temperature in here.

>"How long can you survive in hotter temperatures?"
I don’t think I have it in me to make a brazen threat like that. At least, not when this thing is already reading me like a book.

>Just- leave, he's not interested in any dialogue, only your submission.
>Just leave, this isn't constructive.
It’s ... tempting ...

... but I probably shouldn’t immediately give up.

>"release you so you can do what, dumbass, be stranded and lost on an alien planet?"
This might be a good tactic.

“Release you where?”

There’s a beat.

“What kind of question is that? Are you stupid, in addition to your obvious timidness?”

... That’s uncalled for ... “I —”

“Perhaps you are incapable of understanding my request. I will spell it out for you in small words.” It starts speaking in a cloying tone of voice, the way I might talk to a small child, and overemphasizes everything it says with hand gestures. “I am in a box. You can let me out of the box. If you do, I will leave you alone. Understand? Yes? Is that simple enough for you, dumb creature?”

“... But there’s not —”

“It is a yes or no ques —”

——

Quest thread can be found here. If you want to participate you should post suggestions over there. Art is by  ourhero.