[That statement of open sincerity and... kindness catches him off guard. He knows what he was like as a child, and looking back he knows how hard it was for her to raise him; attitude notwithstanding, she was older and hadn't been prepared to raise another child.

Jon watches him before swallowing thickly and tucking his head down.]

A-all the same. That's... what it was like, m-more or less. Found the. The Leitner when I was eight, and... [Sigh.] Felt... fairly alone and kept to myself throughout school.