"Sorry," he whispered. He paused, considering again whether it would be wise to reveal information to a stranger, but he realized that it would be very unlikely that someone like this would even associate with anyone who would cause Jay any trouble. After all, a garuda would not likely want to hold a conversation with a decaying corpse, and it didn't seem like this man had much interaction with humans.

Then, after glancing around nervously again in case anyone was around to hear and confirming that no one was, Jay whispered very, very quietly. "If it makes you feel better, normally what you are doing wouldn't be as effective if I tried it. Normally I'm a naga."