[ Trahearne nods. Through hardship are fierce bonds found. That might possibly be the truest thing he's heard all day. That line might stick with him for a while.

But he turns to look at her, study her as she speaks when she mentions not ever experiencing a bond like this. He sympathizes a little, but while he spent most of his life by himself, the unique circumstances of his people meant he did experience such a thing. ]

...My firstborn siblings and I shared something similar. There were only twelve of us in the beginning, and in those first two years, we were alone. We fought hard to establish ourselves as a respectable people in our world, and to ensure our survival. We experienced terrible loss when one of our brothers left us much too early, even before the second generation awoke. Since then, the firstborn have dwindled in number. There are only eight of them left now.

[ He pauses, his gaze more intense than he perhaps intends. He gets the sense that she would rather be alone, keep herself apart, stay with the status quo of her life that she is so comfortable maintaining. But he knows what it's like to have, and to lose such a bond. ]

I don't want to give you unsolicited advice, Beatrix. But I do encourage you to cherish what we have while we're all still here.