"On and off, from when I was five until eighteen" Larek replied.

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"Well, no one likes a braggart who doesn't back up his show of strength with actual feats" Orna replied. "Fortunately for [i]you[/i], I believe you when you say you'd keep me safe. You don't have to be a genius who wrestles crocodiles to win my eye." 

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Veax nodded. "That sounds like what my father once said. While I don't agree with him on everything, he is right when he said that happiness comes from appreciating what you have, and that in order to appreciate something, you have to be without it for a while. My mother put it a bit more simply. She said that you don't realize how nice it is to be comfortable if you've never been in pain. She told me that while giving me a foot rub when I was about fourteen. I didn't believe her at first, but then she pinched my middle right toe. It wasn't harmful, but it hurt. Then, she took care of the pain she caused, and it felt far better than it had been normally." 

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Kos continued washing up, making sure that his horns were clean. He waited until Sasha arrived.