"You ASSUME I'M BRUTAL because that's what you've heard," I said. "Well, what about what I've heard about you? Are you thin- skinned, a coward, a fool?"
"You're a Noavek," he said stubbornly,
folding his arms, "Brutality is in your blood."
"I didn't choose the blood that runs in my
veins," I replied. “Any more than
you chose
"your fate. You and I, we've become what we
were made to become.