:: action - I so love this thread
[It takes a brief moment of consideration over what she says before his brows lift with realization. He can relate to loss of those one holds dear, not just through the loss of numerous members of his crew, some of which he'd known better than others. But Also, he still vividly remembers living the full life of an iron weaver by the name of Kamin on the now extinct planet of Kataan. He remembered how real the loss of Kamin's wife and their two children had felt to him when he had returned to his own life. They were still the family he had never allowed himself in lieu of chasing after his career.
His career, that had always come first. His career, that was nonexistent here -- a fact that left him ill at ease and uncertain as to what to do with himself.]
I see. [He nods once slowly, almost a dramatic gesture for his usually understated mannerisms. In his eyes there is the slightest hint of uncertainty, which speaks volumes from a man who is always so certain, at least where others can see. But there's also a genuine empathy there, proof that he thinks he understands what she's trying to convey.]
And yet what is life without loss, the ache of it, the threat of it and the hope that we exist as if we might lose the entirety of everything in the blink of an eye?
[There's suddenly a brazen spark of mischief in his eyes, a cockiness and surety that's always there, but that he keeps hidden away much of the time. But it was that overconfident manner that had kept him alive many times over.] No, I would argue that life is better when lived with a certain amount of brashness in spite of the inevitability of loss. My former First Officer would refer to it as... going all in.