Grinning at her satisfied words, clearly pleased with herself, Dalton inclined his head in deference to her sharp eye. He was sure he'd given himself away, but not everyone noticed the nuances. She cheerfully fished for more information as he gave her arm one last look-over. It was a valid question, considering Dalton was not obviously in his retirement age.
Dalton let her have her arm back, giving a crooked smile to match her own. “Not quite. I've been a practitioner for longer than that,” he admitted, remembering pouring over texts in his teens, sucking up the theory and scribbling small circles even as he planned more ambitious things. He'd had a firm hand to keep him cautious back then. His smile turned wry, a little regretful, “But I can't deny it's related.”
Dalton let her have her arm back, giving a crooked smile to match her own. “Not quite. I've been a practitioner for longer than that,” he admitted, remembering pouring over texts in his teens, sucking up the theory and scribbling small circles even as he planned more ambitious things. He'd had a firm hand to keep him cautious back then. His smile turned wry, a little regretful, “But I can't deny it's related.”