well i grew up quick and i grew up mean

Aesop nodded.  "Good to know you're around, then.  Might steal you sometimes to get practice in between lessons n'all," he said.  He wouldn't ask for lessons from her for fear of losing his solid excuse to make the trek to visit Alastor.  Though he didn't dare try and address what he was feeling for the boy, he knew that he wanted to continue to see him, and that was enough to stay his tongue.  At her second fight comment, he shrugged.  Clearly, he could hold his own in a fight.  The intruder had, in the end, been chased out, after all.  Still, the victory was tainted, and he took no pleasure in it.

He frowned, thoughtful.  On the one hand, he understood the need to slip out quietly, unnoticed.  On the other, he didn't understand or particularly like her reason for leaving.  "You don't seem too certain," he said, picking up on her body language.  He decided not to push farther, let the sentence stand as a statement rather than a question, and let her continue on that vein if she wished.  To push any more out of her would be rude, and he wasn't even sure he wanted to hear it.  Other's stories always made him uncomfortable, as so often they were rife with devastation and loss.