Brain continued to watch, sitting still on the counter with his hands laced together in his lap, until one rose to prop his chin, claws tapping thoughtfully at that cheek.

He folded his hands again and leaned forward a little at the effort at description, impressed at the enthusiasm and as empathetic as any gremlin was inclined to be; while his vocabulary was certainly sufficient, there had been a time before any difference from the others (with their fragmented sentences and two to three word statements) had been established. Incomplete communication, he suspected, would be worse than a complete want...

The theft was a welcome interruption from more serious musing; Brain brightened briefly, entertained and amused at the irony of it now, as opposed to the street crime he and his fellows had hoped to observe (and applaud, and add to...).

Back to what it was all about. "Noone by the name and noone dressed in such a fashion, I'm sorry to say---or, noone as far as I've seen."