The buck made a face at that before regaining control of his expression with a shake of the head. "Fools," he growled quietly, only to add in an almost apologetic mutter a few moments later, "they will understand the value of a soul when the time comes."

I'll get to this. Been fighting with him to respond. Which is he wants to go quiet and I want him to at least respond to close this out properly instead of clamming up like a bad child.

The secretary pelted buck nearly winced at the silence that stretched out between them. It reminded him of the times in the distant past he had been told of these sort of things not working out. Talking, communicating, making companionships were nearly impossible for him to accomplish. Yet, he craved it. He needed something to help break up the monotony. Yet, here he was causing the conversation to stall and break down. He accepted the vicious cycle for what it was.
He sighed, "I should probably leave you to your resting."

dusts this off because I really want to do things with Jehoel.