The other boy's answers were odd, and felt almost conflicting. Kurapika tilted his head, and the momentary distraction of trying to figure out how to best answer was enough to keep him focused for a while longer. It helped, having a person to talk to, even though the topic of partnership tended to trigger the darkest thoughts, but as long as he stuck to thinking how to help an obviously troubled colleague, he didn't have to deal with the madness liberally dusting the mountainside.

"You got here just a few days ago, and this is your first time participating in a major mission. Whatever happened out there, it's not anything that can be taken against you." Kurapika paused and smiled faintly. "It took me a while to figure out what I wanted to do, in light of what I could do, and I made a lot of mistakes."