Snippet #2083171

Alain shrugged a bit, "Smart, if you were not you. You, unfortunately, must learn of such things." Her second question caused him to chuckle a little. He put a hand up before she opened the door, blocking out light while his other hand pulled down the front of his cowl a bit to help his eyes adjust slowly. He had longer legs than she did, so it wasn't too difficult to keep up with her even while keeping his pace unhurried. He rubbed his chin. How old was he? He didn't usually keep track. It wasn't really important, not normally. He thought for another moment before saying, "Mid twenties. Twenty six, perhaps? I do not keep track, generally. No need to. You look to be about cresting the eve of your twentieth year. Age is not measured in time, though. Age is measured in experience. I would say that I have probably experienced twice what you have. I do not say that to look down upon you or your life. It just is. Look at where you are now, compared to myself. The lower you are on the pyramid, the quicker you experience things. I was taught to fight by necessity. If I did not learn, I would have died. I learned to steal, to pick locks, to kill, all because I did not have a choice. You hunt, but you do not look to have grown up wondering where your next slice of bread would come from...or who, in my case." He chuckled a little again, before shrugging. If she asked when the day of his birth was, he didn't know what to tell her. He had never celebrated it. All it ever signaled was another year of struggling to get by, or another year to the game, "Life is a game. However many times you have been around the board is how old you are, not how long you have played. Some are complacent to be as they are born. Others fight their fates. I was born a pauper, to a widowed and ill mother, not that she ever acted as such. If you do not want to be the heir to a kingdom, well..." He let the thought trail and shrugged. He could teach her many things, she had the potential for it. He could see it. But he didn't care one way or another. He was just fine running a solo act.