The thing with Thom and Leon was that they had known August too long and too well for him to cast his usual airs; he couldn't even really be annoyed, because he knew that Thom was probably right. Of course, there was the thing about the cave - August couldn't tell whether or not that was a purposeful mention of Lyra, and raised an eyebrow at Thom. He almost said something, but - what was the point? Lyra was gone; she was not going to come back, at least not in a way that made a meaningful change to August's life. That much had to be clear.

"Yes, well," he said, "Maybe it's time to do something else."

Except that he still had no interest in society.

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