Oh, honestly I never thought about it! But I did have this "what if" HC about them meeting as children. My Eli was part of a religious group that traveled from town to town, and he ran into Norton who seemed hungry for fresh food, so he shared some bread with him and they ate together while trying to talk. Though Eli had to leave before they could seriously connect. It's just a what if idea though, I never really made it canon in my story.