There are many things about this explanation that stand out to James. The first is that he does understand this, when put this way; if he truly, deeply believed--even with it only being a possibility, not a certainty--that someone was a threat to Francis, or Edward, or Goodsir, or any of the others, he would find it far easier to just shoot than he would if the threat was only to himself. That sense of responsibility, and at an even simpler level that protective instinct, is a very strong part of what makes James particularly good at dealing with dangerous threats, despite entirely lacking any natural inclination toward violence.
So he gets that. And he can understand from there how the scales might've tipped for Raju in a way they still might not have for James, who would've likely not convinced himself of an immediate danger in that particular situation, but then again who's to say? Ultimately, that does make sense, even if he might disagree with the choice.
But it also says something else about Raju, besides the protectiveness and how he assesses risks. It means that Francis, in particular, is incredibly important to him, enough so that he'd rather risk the guilt of killing someone possibly innocent--whether he's convinced himself they weren't or not--than allow anything to happen to him. And on one hand, this is a good thing; James is glad Francis has, and has had, someone that cares that much about him, especially after losing everyone else during the expedition.
On the other hand, he's a little surprised. Sure, he'd known Raju and Francis had to be close both by the fact that they live together and, more simply, how they'd acted around each other. That much was obvious, but there are people James likes and gets along with well enough to possibly live with--especially in a situation like this--without feeling that level of attachment to. So he has to shift, just a little, his understanding of their relationship, and the weight of it.
That is, however, something he won't ask about. If it were just Raju affected then might've, but it involves Francis too, and if Francis hadn't even told him he lived with someone; clearly, for whatever reason, this is something Francis doesn't want to talk too much about. So James will leave it alone, for now.
He nods, once, to show he understand and accepts this answer, though he's not sure if Raju will notice with his shifting gaze and nervous movements. James gets the latter well enough, as he often does something similar.
"You didn't just know my name, you called me 'captain.'" James says it lightly, something of a peace offering, showing he's willing to move on from this topic to something more frivolous. They're still not out of this stupid cave, but it's going to be his turn to talk next, and if giving Raju time to calm down a little also means James gets to stall, then all the better. "I knew right away you and one of the others must've spoken about me, since I gave you neither name nor the title." Though 'captain' isn't really even his rank anyway, but that's not really important to point out at the moment.
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So he gets that. And he can understand from there how the scales might've tipped for Raju in a way they still might not have for James, who would've likely not convinced himself of an immediate danger in that particular situation, but then again who's to say? Ultimately, that does make sense, even if he might disagree with the choice.
But it also says something else about Raju, besides the protectiveness and how he assesses risks. It means that Francis, in particular, is incredibly important to him, enough so that he'd rather risk the guilt of killing someone possibly innocent--whether he's convinced himself they weren't or not--than allow anything to happen to him. And on one hand, this is a good thing; James is glad Francis has, and has had, someone that cares that much about him, especially after losing everyone else during the expedition.
On the other hand, he's a little surprised. Sure, he'd known Raju and Francis had to be close both by the fact that they live together and, more simply, how they'd acted around each other. That much was obvious, but there are people James likes and gets along with well enough to possibly live with--especially in a situation like this--without feeling that level of attachment to. So he has to shift, just a little, his understanding of their relationship, and the weight of it.
That is, however, something he won't ask about. If it were just Raju affected then might've, but it involves Francis too, and if Francis hadn't even told him he lived with someone; clearly, for whatever reason, this is something Francis doesn't want to talk too much about. So James will leave it alone, for now.
He nods, once, to show he understand and accepts this answer, though he's not sure if Raju will notice with his shifting gaze and nervous movements. James gets the latter well enough, as he often does something similar.
"You didn't just know my name, you called me 'captain.'" James says it lightly, something of a peace offering, showing he's willing to move on from this topic to something more frivolous. They're still not out of this stupid cave, but it's going to be his turn to talk next, and if giving Raju time to calm down a little also means James gets to stall, then all the better. "I knew right away you and one of the others must've spoken about me, since I gave you neither name nor the title." Though 'captain' isn't really even his rank anyway, but that's not really important to point out at the moment.