Damian was surrounded by a crowd of other Beast Masters, but he didn't talk to a single one of them. He just watched them all while remaining silent, still, and calculating.
Observation was a survival skill—essential for any Stackborn worth their name.
In the Hollow Stacks, awareness kept you alive. If you weren't paying attention, you didn't last long. You needed to know where the dark corners were, the ones that weren't safe to walk into. You had to spot cybernetic murder machines before they strolled up behind you. You needed to know which Stackborn were associated with gangs and would do anything to traffic a large number of people for their organs and lives. You had to look out for the people who could expose you to stimulants just by passing near them, as they then sought to sell you everything that they had to keep you a paying customer for the years to come.
And most importantly, you had to be able to look someone in the eye—once—and know who they were.
