why are you so petrified of silence

Glancing slightly at Peter, Loren followed the adopted Launceleyn down the hallway. "I wanted to see if there were any books on medicine or herbs that I didn't know about." The healer's voice came out without much inflection. However, his expression grew shadowed and haunted, eyes distant, at the other man's next comment. It wasn't actually a question, but Loren answered anyway. "Would've thought your eyes and ears would've told you already." It came out flatly and a bit curtly. "Things change." There was equal parts bitterness and guilt in the words. "People die." With that, he took a deep breath and smoothed his features into an expressionless mask again. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you weren't happy I was here." It was impossible to tell how he felt, if it was a joke or not, given his monotone. "What do your fellow advocates think of your new post?" There was little real interest behind the question. LOREN Not quite an open book