Violet watched him. Her face fell at the story he was telling. “Sorry to hear about your friend mister. So I take it he died with a smile on his face?” She could hear the scolding in her head already. That wasn’t how one asked about things. “Sorry.” She rubbed the back of her neck. “I don’t hear much of sad stories. My Aunt and Uncle were in a war and I think daddy forbade them to tell me anything.”
[ a smile broke first, then a laugh and before he realized it he was having to wipe at his teary eyes. some might have called him cruel, but he preferred funny. ]
"I'm just fuckin' with y', kid. I ain't never had no buddy named Henry." "--Well, I did. But he ain't died far as I know." [ plus, henry wasn't exactly a war buddy. just another thief looking for a way to get money back home, but he wouldn't be mentioning that. if he was already swearing and trying to scare the kid, it probably wasn't the best time to mention something that would lose her trust immediately. ]









