[ Something uncomfortable ripples through their connection, like a quick, brief flip of pages before a sudden shut of a metaphorical book closes off that emotion and replaces it with a forced casualness. ]

I'm just saying that staying stagnant in a moving world could hinder progress.

[ This feels like a familiar conversation... Too bad his halved memory won't allow him to place it. ]

I wouldn't want to see you fall behind. That's all.