Very much so, yes. Some days I consider it miraculous that I remember how to speak to people, after twelve thousand years alone in the aetherial sea.

[She breathes out a sigh, but not a sad one, nor a weighty one; nor does her smile flicker in the least. If anything, it speaks of a deep weariness more than even a shallow despair.]

But I held fast to my core, throughout it all. And you must remember that we are a very long-lived people. Though it was indeed a long time, it may have perhaps been... [How old is he, anyway? Her eyes flick over him, she makes a quick guess (and one too young by a few years), then quickly maths out the comparison.] ...three hundred seventy? Naught more than four hundred years, if you compare the time in isolation to that of the life before. Still no small amount, but I daresay you can see how the difference matters. So I think myself far better off than you would expect.

[Though she cants her head slightly, eyes brightening even if her smile can't.] But should I be wrong, I have a skilled and knowledgeable friend to help me discover that, and for that too I am very glad.