“Niko’s not like you, just like you weren’t like Lan. He’s smart, Hilo-jen. Observant. He’s always trying to deeply understand things, but he has to do it in his own way, even if it means going all the way over to the opposite side. You say he’s cold and selfish, but it’s because he keeps what he feels to himself. He does care. He cares what you think of him. And I think he needs to be free of it too.”
