[ he exhales at her admission. nods slightly, a faint twitch about his mouth at her answer. not in humor, no smile, just — something. yes, his guess was right. yes, he recognizes something in her, and she sees it in him. people from places like theirs, won't they always know each other? ]

Then you're well-prepared for the situation here.

[ his tone is brisk, free from pity. free from even commiseration, unless you look very closely. he'd paused in the bandaging but returns to the job now, winding the fabric around her arm and then tying it off. ]

This is the worst I've seen it, [ the situation, ] but I wouldn't get my hopes up about things getting better.

[ do they ever? ]