Paul knows loss when he sees it, and it's something he respects. He's familiar enough with losing people he cares about. He gives the stranger a look that he hopes is sympathetic without seeming condescending. He also appreciates music, and in fact part of him is thinking about someone he knew once and may well know again in time. But there's no need to bring up your own traumas in the face of someone else's recent pain.

But the sight of a string instrument softens Paul's heart and prompts him to dig in his pocket for several gold coins. It's tradition to pay a musician, whichever world you come from. Or planet, for that matter. He offers them to the stranger.

"Yes, please. I'd be happy to hear anything you've come up with."