[Sniper uttered a small groan, carefully maneuvering himself away from the picture without making it obvious what he was doing. Eventually, he decided to simply give up all pretense and staunchly hid behind Cloud, whose height and girth were larger than his--and to face the truth head on, Sniper wasn't about to set the painting on fire if Cloud the Adventurer had a better solution.]

Why is it doing that? [He squeaked.

And why did he feel like he needed salt? He waved one hand in the painting's direction.]

Hello, fair... steed! We come in peace! Do you think it can hear us? Or is it just a trick?