???

_{fingertip CIRCLES rim of his glass with half – lidded cerise eyes slowly being AVERTED to look toward company.  company whose voice does take him by surprise but perhaps not nearly as much compared to if he HADN’T known they were there prior.  the smell of cigarette smoke settles in his nostrils  ,  a scent he knew all too well but NOT because he smoked.  he knows very well it’d linger on him for hours to come as it BLEEDS into the very threads of his clothing.  “ do i ?   –   it’s not often brought up. ”}

              _{———❝ Let’s say I have an eye for that sort of thing. ❞
The burn of tobacco settled into his lungs, a scorch that could not nearly compare to the feeling of fire on the back of his neck. Somehow, in some way, the man beside him had triggered his passive perception. Humans never quite gave the same lingering feeling, not if they were truly as normal as they say.}

❝ I’ve  been told I look pretty young for my age — how does a hundred and seven look to you? ❞