Maybe they have that in common. Hob has a desire to be around others, but he knows it's always going to be temporary. Anyone back home he meets and gets involved with will eventually leave him. Maybe he would spare himself the pain if he didn't get involved at all, but there's still a desire to be around others. To not be lonely.

"Yes, frightened or confused. Or I could end up a lab rat in an experiment. Or at the mercy of someone who's studied magic and would like to be immortal themselves. In the end, telling someone is always a matter of risk."

"The last time I got careless, I was dragged out of my home and drowned as a witch. That was a few hundred years ago. And not very pleasant."