“Then I ask him for a new game?”
“Yep.”
He looked thoughtful. Looked up at Big Guns. “I'm gonna make you buy me the new Halo!”
Big Guns snorted doubtfully. His crew snickered again.
I told Tho, “And you're a kid. So use that too.”
“How?” Palms up.
I wiggled my fingers in front of his face. “Touch. Touching someone, if done right, strengthens relationships, and is a marker of closeness we recognize instinctively. Squeeze a shoulder, rub a forearm, and you trigger a process.”
“Huh?”
“Here's how it works: When you stimulate pressure receptors in the skin, you lower stress hormones.” At this point I realized I had completely lost the kid. He was back to scowling at the Royal Family for laughing at him. I also realized I was too high to stop myself. “At the same time, warm touch stimula
