"Yes, sometimes they do it specifically because they want to, but we've all been there. It's a learning process and I'd understand why she'd do it."

Not that he was around enough to hear it from her own mouth. She probably still thought of him as some sort of imaginary hero, only available to her in pictures or stories from her mother. She'll grow to resent him soon enough, though. He knows it.

"Can't." He confirms, his tone a little clipped. He starts to walk again.

A dreamworld curse, he calls it. The things that escape his mouth and immediately regret has his jaw clenching in frustration. If he had been awake, this never would've happened. He doesn't need some guy judging his life choices, no matter how terrible they were. He already knows the mistakes he's made; countless plans were created to try and rectify them but never came to fruition but that's his business. Not anybody else's.

"It's not an occupation that you can just 'quit'."

He should stop while he's ahead, but he can't. Dreams dictate he speak a little more freely and his role back home dictates remain a foil as long as the protagonist lives. It's not like he has much of a choice here, but he can't expect anyone to really understand this position.