[ Matt deflates slightly. He was hoping that a guy as competent (and built) as Gabranth seems to be would be like, naturally adept at all the manly nature stuff Matt has never cared for. But it seems like no dice. Besides which, he raises some good points about the odds of surviving out there. ]

And I haven't been keeping good track of how far we've come, [ Matt realizes, hand scrubbing over his scarred left cheek again. ] I was ... I guess in shock, at first.

Wait, "in your youth"? [ he non-sequiturs. His eyebrows arch. ] How old are you?