[ The man is quiet for a few moments, letting Ryoji's words fade away into the woods around them. A movement prefaces his reply - not in his person, but in his wings; half-unfurling to show the intricacies of geometric arrangement in its feathers, each piece so regular and repetitive as to look evidently inorganic.

At their full length, they would be between three to four metres, but that would be too much space. ]

When I was younger, I served outside of Britain. Do you know about Doctors Without Borders, Ryoji? I spent a good amount of years there. A few months during that period, I was in Sub-Saharan Africa. They needed a specialist for malaria, so I went with a few others into the rural hills.

[ He's not looking at the boy, no. Only out into the distance. ]

When I first started tending to the people there, they would not see me unless they were accompanied by one of the local doctors. Because I was the only staff member who was not from Africa. Because of how I looked, they did not trust me. White people had done them injustice before.

[ It's a reasonable suspicion to have, which is why he didn't hold it against them that much. But it was not conducive to work, no. ]

Your feelings right now - doubt, fear, anxiety - they are every bit as valid as anyone else's feelings. But at the same time, we have people to look after, do we not? Friends, family, the like. What I faced back then was a challenge, but I had to push through for the sake of my duty. I would have found it hard to have faith in myself if I did not have colleagues to support me. And in this same way... I will continue to work despite having these wings.

[ Other people are more important then themselves. ]

Inhuman I may be, but I can still think clearly. Your appearance may have changed, but you are still Ryoji inside. That is what matters the most.