"And yet..." Cyrano trailed off, drawing a slow, easy, deliberate breath before exhaling with a little smile, winking good-naturedly over his port as he took another sip before setting his glass down again after their toast.

"I call you a soldier because that's what you are." he continued, clearing his throat around the pleasant burn of alcohol. "I serve with the Gascon, and were you not a woman I would swear you had done the same. There's a look to those that have tasted blood in combat rather than as a matter of honor or wanton destruction."

He loses some of his smile, yet the warmth of camaraderie remains in his expression...a sympathy, an understanding.

"Where even in a crowded room, you are utterly alone, and utterly lost. Imprisoned behind the barricades of war no innocent nor civilian can cross."