"Okay," he answers, pulling out the word and pulling back as well, having apparently struck a nerve. "I can see that."

Is Rashad having the same sort of inherent difficult in identifying Daniel as Daniel is with him? That's entirely possible, actually, especially if he's got sensory capabilities of his own. It might be he's lacking context, just like Daniel is.

"So, then." There's no polite way of saying it, though he tries to make it as tactfully as he can which is, currently, evidently not very tactful at all: "What are you?"