[ she can't see it, of course, but his lips twitch into a smile at her mention of cruelty; evidently, they had quite different ideas of what could and would be classified as cruel. that aside, he's generally rather fond of his ability to read people.

nevertheless— ] War has a tendency to elicit much the same response in all who experience it in its true form, bar a few — and if that doesn't comfort you, do remember that I'm older than I appear, in mortal terms at least. For as much as life likes to imagine it's unique, there's a commonality to it all that can be seen quite easily if one lives long enough and bothers to look.