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Alistair Archibald was generally perceived to be a benevolent and tolerant man, but there were around three things that he absolutely could not stand. He hated people who would attempt to halt his march. Impeding his progress was tantamount to attacking him, and he did not simply stand by while people did that. Second, he refused to allow people to insult him. He was a prideful man and for good reason: he excelled in just about anything he had ever set his mind too. To verbally attack your superiors, well, only a fool would do so. 

But as much as he loathed those two things, the last one earned his ire far easier and stronger than both of those ever could.

Lastly, Alistair Archibald despised weak, cowardly people. Being a man who can respect hard work and dedication, he inversely believes those who do not even try, who run from adversity out of cowardice, and who surrender without exhausting all alternatives... are worthless. It goes without saying that an actual attempt at suicide would be the greatest act of what he perceives to be 'weak' and 'cowardly' behavior. Even the thought of it caused his mood to sour.

Given this information about him, it is unlikely to be a surprise that he did not enjoy Aerith's story. In fact, you could argue the exact opposite, as Alistair's features clearly expressed disdain for Aerith, and a distinct lack of sympathy for her story. Though only for the time it took for someone to blink, as perhaps realizing how obvious it was, he glanced away briefly and returned with a neutral expression. And following that, he spoke in a rather neutral tone. [color=c1ba46]"I see. That must have been rough."[/color] he said. [color=c1ba46]"Yet so long as we play things smart and don't give up, we should always have a means to move forward."[/color] he seemed to emphasize the bit about not giving up, but otherwise it would almost seem like he was encouraging her. 

[i][color=c1ba46]No, I cannot erupt here. I must control myself. Yes, when has ire earned me anything but another reset?[/color][/i]

Truth be told, hearing Aerith's woes had done nothing but put her quite high on Alistair's shit list. It pissed him off more so than usual because it felt like a direct insult to him and even everyone else trying to survive this hellish world to simply give up like that. This world, however, had caused him to mature, if only a little bit. He could see that there was no particular benefit to acting on feelings right now. He had a goal, and he was going to accomplish it, even despite this. 

Eventually, his spirit appeared. 

Had Odessa came out and said anything else, her appearance may have been a good thing, at least pertaining to Alistair's mood. He likely would have been able to focus on being irritated at something else, at least. But she mentioned the color of Aerith's mana being worse than his own a week ago. There was really only one thing that could mean, as far as Alistair was concerned. It did not have any positive effect on his opinion towards her. But he would be civil, ignore this contempt for now, and focus on learning and planning out their next move. That was the most important thing right now. 

[color=c1ba46]"Is it really that difficult to understand?"[/color] he asked Chieko rather genuinely when she seemed confused at Odessa's way of speaking. He'd become rather fluent in Odessa-speak in the past weeks, to the point where he'd forgotten how stumped he was at first. [color=c1ba46]"She was referring to the color of Aerith's mana."[/color] He turned his gaze to Aerith as he continued speaking. [color=c1ba46]"You've been keeping interesting company, haven't you?"[/color]

As Aerith assured Odessa that she meant no harm, Alistair nodded to the spirit and gave her a pat on the head. Without looking up, he replied, [color=c1ba46]"No cause for worry there. Given the circumstances, I find it very difficult to believe that you would harm us."[/color] his choice of wording her seemed rather deliberate. Noticing that Chieko was departing, Alistair thanked Odessa for the information, and then follow the two girls.

Catching up to the two, he spoke again. [color=c1ba46]"Recalling it now... I suppose I've been living life in luxury compared to the rest of you. I merely suffered through a short interrogation and then went on a date with Captain Crunch."[/color] he told them. [color=c1ba46]"There was someone whom I could speak freely about things we normally couldn't speak about and who is not a part of our group. A third party, it seemed. They had some interesting things to speak about, but I do not think it wise to go into any further detail out here, so I'll save the specifics for later."[/color]