The first words that come out of Joss’s mouth are soft and almost robotic, devoid of any emotion. They’re also, confusingly, in English, and in an accent rather different from the perfect BBC pronunciation he normally uses:

“I shall, Mother.”

Despite Ayumu’s reassurance, the compulsion inside Joscelin’s brain still has him on autopilot. He uses one of the many knives on his person to cut a switch from a nearby tree and presents it to Ayumu, with more murmured Elizabethan English and every indication that he expects it to be used on the back he has helpfully bared for her.