Damien smirked at her remark that made playful reference to his nickname back home, even if the original intent behind it was to insult him. Though he did politely turn down her request of a live souvenir to take back home. "No, let them be." A simple enough and polite refusal. Though in truth he was more concerned that the pet he did look after might just end up eating anything else he might try to take home.
He seemed in high spirits, with a slight smile occupying the far corners of his mouth. But the question she decided to pose did blindside him and harden his expression a little. Thinking back to what his early life was like was rarely a pleasant experience. To be reminded of how much constant attention to detail he needed in order to pretend to be like everyone else, but also what his parents expected him to be. "By not being what they paid for."
By itself this answer was hardly elaborate, so he explained further. "Sometimes I'd forget I was supposed to pretend to be something else around them. Sometimes it would be because I hoped that maybe if I showed them glimpses of who I really was that they would like me more than their idea of what I should be. It never ended well." It was certainly a less wholesome tale compared to the one Fiorella told.
But that seemed to be a persistent trend with the truth in its barest form.
