“That counted for a lot,” he agrees softly. Being able to take it, to endure. “Especially at the beginning.”

When the ground was constantly shifting underfoot, the world not yet settled into its new shape. Being able to endure was the same as surviving, as keeping your people going. Nothing mattered more.

“I think it gets twisted sometimes,” he adds, in that same quiet tone. “‘s why it’s harder with people I care about: they know me.”