Valdis knows he is offering the vulnerability in exchange for hers, an honest conversation between two people who have known the pain of immortality and the suffering that can come with it.

"Shame?"

Valdis withdraws her hand from the scars.

"I feel no shame over my scars, Erik. They are proof I survived. Proof that even those far stronger than me couldn't kill me. Perhaps they conquered me for a time, and they are a reminder of that, but they are nothing to be ashamed of. If anything, they are motivation to never allow it to happen again."