Part of him was braced for violence. Really. That's what all the other long-term female presences in his life had resorted to in a time of mortification or drama. Of course, Zelgadis had been mainly stone for previous occurrences, so he really ought to've been wholly braced if that thinking was true. Instead of rock, he was apparently some kind of jelly-based life form without bones, liable to wobble and drop to the ground at any second.

It was pretty unsettling to witness.

He apparently realized that at a point, between the burning of his palms as he relied on them for support and Terra's expression, because he started to straighten up as though his joints were wooden. He got there, though, and managed to be upright...still looked utterly flustered and out of sorts nonetheless. His mouth opened a little, but sounds didn't come out because there were no pre-thought words at the ready.

Well, none that he could utter and live, that is...