Soldat doesn't look up from their bowl. "It doesn't eat. I've tried. Pet the top of its head, instead."

And... they know it's superstition. The bit they'd reacted to was how it reminded people to come back. With something to remind them of their soldier, maybe it would have been enough to keep them from running off and getting killed. "I know," they say, voice low, poking at the food a moment rather than eating it.