[Even if he hadn't promised never to bother Minegishi about his smoking habits again, Liem would be especially inclined to forgive him for a bit of vice given present circumstances. Sure, one should strive to be above such things—but in the face of the messy mortal struggles that make up their flawed reality, he can't expect anyone to manage it a hundred percent of the time. Considering that the young man is one limb short compared to the last time he saw him, he clearly has problems of his own to contend with at the moment.

So Liem just watches him fish out a cigarette and go looking for his lighter, noting the differences even in this simple activity now that he has only a single hand to work with. Forget a second hand—he doesn't even have an elbow to lean on or tuck objects temporarily into. He must have endured incredible violence to lose that entire arm.

And one of the Pleroma who had been in Venera must surely be responsible. Possibly even one of the ones he'd met there. It suddenly seems incredibly narrow-minded for Liem to have spent any time working with them at all.]

I couldn't sleep either. But that's usual for me.

[Human rhythms dictate that nighttime is for resting, but he's always had difficulty convincing his body of that, and these days his insomnia has been worse than ever. He regards Minegishi thoughtfully for a moment, then adds,]

And the indoors were making me restless. I wanted to be outside.