Ross' smile, although wry, was not mean-spirited - he was a little entertained by the intern's circumstances, sure, but his first impression of Holm was that he was a nice lad. "Well, it helps to be self-aware in these circumstances," Ross said, "And there are worse things to be. Although I hope you are able to avoid Knarl-incidents as much as possible."

Ross bent down and scooped up the knarl, supporting its bottom and holding it with both hands in the hopes that that would keep the creature from biting him.

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