Istredd is trained polite enough to incline his head back, although he stays fairly close to Kyle just in case. He knows eventually this vigilance will relax, but until then this is how he is getting through it. He is not good with strangers in the first place so it will take time before the icy exterior softens again.

"Mine does, monsters are somewhat common, but I'm uncertain if anything that big exists. I did see a terrifying giant winged creature shortly before coming here, so I suppose it's possible."

He wouldn't really know what Earth was in the first place, outside of that it's a common name for some spheres and their planet. It isn't for him. Even if he caught Kyle in a lie he wouldn't blink twice about it. They all have their reasons, and they were all unknown to one another once. It's only smart to hold some things back. Istredd's intelligent, but he isn't particularly wise, so he had to learn that the hard way.

"I don't know if the creature was what spoke to us from the shrines. It seems that it must be, perhaps it is more intelligent than it looked like from far below. Between that and the very aware giant turtle that saved us, it is probable these beasts have minds of their own."

And he doesn't mean in terms of animals having minds. He means that they may actually think coherently and have the ability to recognize allies and one another. So the shrine creature? Could come back around easily, with more of those whispers. Classic that Istredd would probably rather face that than the acolytes.