The highest compliment -- Roy had gotten that sort of praise before, but hardly in this context. It seemed like a strange thing to come out and say all of a sudden, so the colonel wasn't quite sure how to react.

He was more interested by the way Knives referred to him as a human. He had alluded to something similar in their conversation earlier in the day, and this seemed to be as good a time as any to ask about it. Conversation would keep him from focusing on the strain his body was still going through. "What are you?" he asked, tone even so that he didn't somehow offend the other man.

As they got toward the block's exit, Roy noticed a group of four patients gathered and crouching near the wall. One was unconscious, another bloody and bandaged -- it looked like some people were having a bad night, not that that was any surprise. As they got closer, Roy recognized one of them as the girl who had come to talk to him at dinner. He didn't want to get caught up in any conversation, so he averted his gaze as they moved past them.