It wasn't meant to be a harsh question. Not a judgemental one. She wasn't trying to question his capabilities. Well - not like that, anyway. That was where the emphasis lied - did he feel it. At any rate, Shane didn't seem to take it poorly. Didn't seem to get defensive. In fact, he spoke carefully, mindfully. It was easily the most she'd ever heard Shane say all in one sitting.
He felt capable of learning - and indeed, Suri could agree. Look how quickly he'd grown, after all, and he was far from dim-minded. It was a role that warmed something in his heart, added to his soul. To teach, to protect. Suri eyed him thoughtfully, listened to his words, the way he seemed to hang tight to his own sense of presence, of confidence.
Suri was not a gung-ho leader type, herself. She found it fulfilling to teach, to guide, to provide - much the same as Shane did. But his expression of desire for it was something more than her own. It was richer, more pointed, more purposeful. Shane was not the sort to float down the river - he was the sort to man a boat, to keep his crew safe in rough waters.
She was quiet for a moment, weighing this all in her head. The answer was an easy one, of course - still, she chewed on it, letting herself wander through the flower field of thoughts in her mind.
"I think what you lack in experience, you make up for in wisdom," she did finally say, one hand abandoning her coffee cup so that she could lean her cheek against her knuckles. "I think you have a good instinct. A good heart. Motivation." Her head nodded slowly against her fist, eyes on him, soft but unblinking. She grinned again after a moment, and then sat up straight. "If it's a role you'd like to fill, I am more than happy to support you in it."