[Surface friendliness, Need thinks. Show of harmlessness? Ingratiation? It's certainly deliberate and likely a contributing factor to people not understanding him. She doesn't think it's entirely disingenuous in general.

Strange boy. Not a lot of fear in him, unless he's just that good at hiding it.]

You can just ask, you know, and the worst that's likely to happen is I won't answer. At my age not a lot shocks or offends me.

[She'd used to say 'When you get to my age' about that kind of thing but it'd be cruel to use a phrase like that to a bunch of dead children and barely-adults.]

If the stakes are high enough I might tell someone, but it's hard to see how 'you have someone you wish well' will ever be essential. [Deliberately downplaying it.] Otherwise, no. Not my business to brut about.