Life's Greatest Lesson

The older outlaw… lacked words to offer in reply. 

Forde looked toward the young Ayse whose arms were now resting on his knees. Even though Forde was standing taller than Ayse, it was clear that Ayse was treating the veteran outlaw as nothing more than a child. 

Yet that soul-reaping stare and smile left Forde with no desire to speak. 

*Who the hell is this kid?!* Forde's mind scuttered to grasp where the youth's profound bearing came from. And only a single potential train of thought seemed to be operational within the details surrounding Ayse. 

"That's it! That must be it!" Manic, Forde's mind plunged into hysteria as he pointed back at the young man. "You're a noble! You're just parading as a peasant on a noble passage!"

Unfazed, Ayse's unblinking eye continued to burrow into the dwarf's psyche.