She was entirely too tired and worn down to hide how much all of that stung, which was exactly what he was so good at, made for in a sense. It didn't matter one way or the other, he wasn't looking at her and he wouldn't have cared any if he was. It was hard to reconcile Alain's implication with the man in front of her. "The skull." The one that terrified Nariko because of deep, inset beliefs. "It probably wouldn't tell you anything you didn't already know."

Or that Alain hadn't known long before, or that Roland understood entirely, in that way that close friends, pairs could comprehend.

"They'll go to bed soon, will you at least come inside, then? Really seems like shit to survive all of that and then catch pneumonia."