Before starting, they do look over at her briefly, actually at her, eye contact and everything. "Sorry, Misty. Gotta. Gotta write it down. New protocols. Helps clear out the brain a little."

Then it's back to the paper, and some very hasty, hard-pressing writing. Several pages worth. One reason they use a pencil, besides it fitting better in their knife sheath, is it's less likely to wind tearing through the page. Writing with the flesh hand isn't as clear, but the metal one is even stronger, so. Pencil. Also, it's very satisfying to trim the tips with a knife to get more lead.

The frantic pace finally slows after about three pages, front and back, and five minutes or so. Then they set the pencil down very carefully on the coffee table.