Leon grunted vaguely in response to the other boy's startled 'I'm sorry.' Pity was not a pleasant thing to have directed at him but at least there were no stupid questions asked after that, so it was a blessedly brief annoyance instead of a drawn-out one.

"What sort of monster got your friend?" That was a matter of much more interest to Leon than was discussing his own situation yet again. He refused to ever again be caught as ignorant and unprepared as he had been the night before--the more he knew about the monsters that prowled the halls at night, the better his chances were of avoiding another serious injury, or worse.