[It is an occupational hazard, perhaps— or maybe simply part of being himself— to always be listening for what isn't said as much as what is. He has spent the last handful of years being deliberately elusive, obscuring his true meaning and leaving little more than hints for those who were perceptive enough to find them, should they care to, and as a result, he finds himself looking for that same tendency in others, whether he means to or not.
He doesn't have to look terribly hard to read between the lines on this one, however. It's not just what she says, but a faint note in her voice that strikes him as odd, and for a moment he says nothing at all, only looks down at her and considers for a moment as he slows their pace a bit.
Dangerous to get attached— a feeling he knows too well, but there's something else hidden away there, something unlike his own reasons for such caution. Through it all, her words don't seem particularly directed at him.
He inclines his head ever-so-slightly, curious.]
Pressing matters at home?
[He's taken care not to ask anything too personal about where she's from, and he continues to choose his words with care now.]
no subject
He doesn't have to look terribly hard to read between the lines on this one, however. It's not just what she says, but a faint note in her voice that strikes him as odd, and for a moment he says nothing at all, only looks down at her and considers for a moment as he slows their pace a bit.
Dangerous to get attached— a feeling he knows too well, but there's something else hidden away there, something unlike his own reasons for such caution. Through it all, her words don't seem particularly directed at him.
He inclines his head ever-so-slightly, curious.]
Pressing matters at home?
[He's taken care not to ask anything too personal about where she's from, and he continues to choose his words with care now.]
You speak as though time here is borrowed.