"It had a lot more to do with where than who." Living through the slow decline of NiJedha had really cramped his teenage rebellion. Unless you actually went out and joined the then-disorganized insurgencies, it was hard to get much of a sense of self from testing boundaries. No need to turn sheer orneriness on parents when the world was slowly crumbling everywhere around. It was being tied to the corpse of the Holy City that he'd fled from, a resignation to the decline, a reluctance to defy duty and a certain conditional security in the hope of something better.

Instead of explaining any of that, he starts a second cup for himself and shrugs. "I'll never be half as good at tea, though."