Prepare to meet a kid who is downright excited that maths as a concept exists, Louie. |Db

Honestly the only times Shrike's done poorly specifically because of the PERSON being too much and not general shyness is like... when the other person's just kind of completely dominated the conversation and pretty much steamrolled over anything Shrike might have to contribute. Shrike tends to react to that sort of thing as "oh okay I guess I don't matter" and hunker down to wait for it to be over. But as long as there's some give and take he can usually manage, and if you actually get him on a topic he's knowledgeable on then he's just. a nerd.