Billy smiles slightly from where he stands, holding his position for a few more moments. He shakes his head no, clinging for a moment.

"No, you're not pitiful. That's not what I mean at all. You're a friend, and this is what some people do with their friends when they want to express emotion: in my case, trust and gratitude."

He steps back, still smiling, though his expression is sheepish now. Maybe it would help to explain in more technical terms. Billy did this research back when he made his first friends, when he needed a way to explain the strange feelings induced by their affection.

"In Lilim, embracing each other relieves stress. Touch triggers the release of a hormone called oxytocin, bringing about positive emotions that help to forge the bond between family and friends. I don't know if you have a hormone like that or even an analogous system, but for me that's why it's done---not as a tool of manipulation. It sounded like that, didn't it? It's more of an instinctual craving. But...was that all right?"

He fidgets, shifting from foot to foot.