"Yeah, I'm just saying. I probably wouldn't have cared if it wasn't something that happened back home. But since it did, it's just like..." Howard pantomimes a very convincing shudder and a gagging face. Possibly best not to mention that Anwei's been making some cameos in his usual everything-going-to-eat-me nightmares. Their relationship is already strange enough to define, not quite friendship but some sort of camaraderie.

"Seriously? That's some of the dumbest shit I've ever heard. And why would you choose a leader based on who couldn't defend their own stuff? That's not just stupid, that's counter-intuitive." Maybe Anwei's sense of purpose isn't so silly after all, if that's what she's up against.

"We figured out how to stop it. When you turn fifteen, time slows down and you get tempted to ditch everything by a hallucination. I stuck around. Guess that was too much to ask of the people in charge." Why no, that's not bitterness in his voice at all!