[Belth slips the casserole into the oven and shuts the door. He doesn't say anything for a long moment, just looks down at their mess. How could Sorey hear that and want to know more?

But his heart will feel better for the telling, he knows.]

Ah... [He isn't sure where to begin, so he just starts stacking bowls into the sink.] My home was taken by the Scourge before I saw my seventh summer. Most people died or went missing. The few of us that survived were left to fend for ourselves. I was used to living on a little, but not on nothing. Even rats are scarce when the undead have poisoned everything...

[The sound of the faucet is calming in comparison to his memories, so he lets it run for a while to wash off bits of vegetables and flour.]

After the city was rebuilt-- the hierarchy didn't change. I stole books until I learned enough to get a job in the kitchen, but the pay wasn't enough to live on. I just read whenever I was hungry. Eventually I stopped noticing.