[She hung her head a little and then looked at her out of the corner of her eye, a sad grin on her face as she coughed once and winced. They were getting ever closer to the clinic, so she slowed a little. When she spoke, she almost sounded disappointed for a moment.

Or maybe that was just the imagination playing tricks on a soul.]

I see. Fair enough, I suppose. I won't try to warn you off anymore. I'm sure I'll have worse watchdogs in the end. You're... at least tolerable to talk to.