Curufin smiles. "No, people don't generally tell me I'm wise. I've made plenty of mistakes in my time, even here. But I have things I care about, and people I care about. And I'm committed to the continued existence and the welfare of this community." He shrugs and smiles again. The smile contains mixed emotions.

But it is true that he is trying to understand Leo, and that he has some basis for understanding, different though their worlds and origins are.

"What else can we do but do the best we can?"