[There is a disconnect in his mind between how he would treat a child and how he would treat a soldier. She is both, and he can't offer her comfort because she has seen the worst the world can offer. Neither can he be too harsh, because she didn't sign up for the war she fought in: she had no idea what she was getting into.
He exhales slowly, nods. He can't say he's ever had someone like that - his childhood, before his parents' accident, was wonderful an isolated. No best friends. The closest he ever had had come much later in life, and certainly hadn't left as good an impression. He doesn't try to relate on a personal level. It's more important that she have someone to listen.
To remember them.]
That's what they don't prepare you for, in training. How easily the people standing with you can just disappear.
[He falls silent, lets that be the prompt - to say more about Corrie, or to move on to Robyn.]
spam
He exhales slowly, nods. He can't say he's ever had someone like that - his childhood, before his parents' accident, was wonderful an isolated. No best friends. The closest he ever had had come much later in life, and certainly hadn't left as good an impression. He doesn't try to relate on a personal level. It's more important that she have someone to listen.
To remember them.]
That's what they don't prepare you for, in training. How easily the people standing with you can just disappear.
[He falls silent, lets that be the prompt - to say more about Corrie, or to move on to Robyn.]