[ There are a few hints in that brief explanation alone that give away what period Billy likely comes from. Jim wouldn't wager a guess on a year, he doesn't know nearly enough, but he can easily guess there are some good centuries between them. ]

Sounds like a long time in my past. What year are you from?

[ Curiosity wins out. He loves hearing about different time periods, and it's even better when it comes from someone with actual personal experience. That's one thing about this place he honestly likes. ]

Yeah, we were. We came here at the same time, around nine months ago. [ He shrugs, smiling weakly. ] No one's fault, I guess. I'll just miss him a lot. But thank you.