Firefly Glen Come, come to your brother (thou shalt not die)

Glaukos wasn't sure what the man was on about. He was certain now that Alaric was speaking more for himself than any real audience, and the soldier would let him go on speaking if that was his wish. That also meant he would be forced to listen to whatever flowed from Alaric, whether it be a river of wisdom or a bit of broken plumbing set to spoil the event.
However, the more he went on the more Glaukos did understand. Although he had nothing comparable, he could see the value in those words. He thought of Germanicus who had one wife, then another; he thought of Kallik who had Aquene and their children; he thought of Tamar, Arsenio — all of these people he had encountered during his service, each stronger for who they chose to protect.
Who did Glaukos protect? Himself. He had always been made to fight for everything he'd ever needed to survive - and with his contract to Germanicus and the vows he'd taken, he'd not thought about anything beyond his work. His mind wandered while Alaric rambled —
Dancing is a pretty good show of athleticism, grace and maneuvers. You have to have a lot of control to dance.
He gave a grunt of acknowledgement but did not speak again to the loud man, but his attention did linger upon the men who danced and played their games, and Glaukos appeared less invested in the conversation as a whole. His focus was on many other things.