Amberdrake smiles a little at that, rolling his short sleeve down once the bandages are done. His arms being bare like this is more skin that he usually showed casually, ten years ago. And not a hint of apprehension can be felt; he's gotten over some of that, too.

"When we were on Haven..." it seems important to voice the thought, now, so he speaks slowly and carefully, "we both got into trouble, trying to protect the other at our own expense."

It was true. Amberdrake had tried to protect Sanzo from his own inadequacies, often by pulling away. Ducking under his mask. Literally fleeing, sometimes, as when the others had arrived. And Sanzo... hadn't that been why he'd initially allowed Kain to do as he had? To 'make peace'? To keep Drake from becoming collateral damage?

He's had ten years to mull these things over.

"But that was foolish, because it just makes the other person have to try harder to undo the damage the first person did to themselves while trying to protect the other. Does that make sense? It's a vicious cycle."

Ten years of relative peace has taught me more about these things than ten years of war could.