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"Aha," said Sermung, his voice hardly muffled by his gleaming helmet. "Indeed, I know the feeling. Might I ask your name, young man?"

"Hector Goffe of Atreya." It seemed a bit unnecessary to return the question, and yet it also seemed impolite not to do so. "And yours, sir?"

"Sermung. A pleasure to meet you. I've not seen armor such as yours in a very long time." He paused. "Oh, and my apologies for waltzing up to you unannounced like that. The sight of you was just making me all manner of nostalgic, and I couldn't help wanting to ask you a few questions."

What a remarkable aura this guy had. So warm and welcoming. Calm and friendly as could be. Utterly confident, too. Perhaps even to the point of... not arrogance, no. What was that?

Boredom? Huh? No, his sense was probably off. Still too new to this whole thing. But--hmm--wasn't there also something deeper? Something... terribly familiar, actually? No, there wasn't--

"You've an interesting aura about you, too," said Sermung, tilting his head ever so slightly. "But I'd ask you to stop probing, please. That's impolite."

Hector paused. He felt at once apologetic for accidentally prying--but also suddenly quite certain about that slightest hint that he'd picked up on. Which felt rather ironic, because if Sermung hadn't said anything just now, then Hector knew that he would've just chalked it up to his own misinterpretation.

Still, it wasn't exactly something to comment on, now was it? Especially when they'd only just met. Of all things, Hector knew that only too well.

Hector elected to remain silent. If it wasn't a subject to be spoken aloud, then even an apology would be too much, wouldn't it? Especially when he could already tell that his own aura would get that feeling across just fine.

And indeed, after another moment, he sensed a shift in the emperor's aura. It was apologetic, as well.

Ah. Hector understood. The man had also picked up on that same familiar feeling, hadn't he? Of course he had.

Hector found himself wondering how many people would have been able to. He'd have to be more careful in the future around fellow aura-sensitive people.

"Seems you caught me in a moment of weakness," said Sermung. His aura was more rigid now, and Hector couldn't sense that familiar feeling any longer. "Unfortunate. I hope that doesn't become a burden to you, someday."

"...If it lightens the one on your shoulders by even a little, then I won't mind carrying it."