He certainly didn't look his age, but that wasn't particularly unusual. He'd also answered the question she hadn't asked, which she appreciated, and she nodded in acknowledgment. "I hope you were, or will be, successful in that endeavor." It had the potential to come off as a platitude, perhaps, but Raine was entirely sincere in that wish, especially in light of lacking anything more practical to offer.

A familiar story, certainly. And so was that bitter hint: she'd heard that sort of personal pain in apparently impersonal narratives before. More than she'd like. "The parallel exists, yes," she said, quietly.

Anything more sympathetic would have to be read from her face, not her words. She rather suspected Solomon might prefer she said nothing anyway, and after a moment she peered around the nearest mushroom deeper into the forest instead.