Moonspear There is so much wrong going on outside

Ultimately, grief to the outside parties was a painful thing to watch. Every subtle shift in their body language, their expression, he was aware of. To sense and anticipate the rising tide of emotions and the great collective that they spanned only to watch them mix and be stowed away was uncomfortable. Though he had the inclination to encourage Jarilo to take his leave, he let him work it out for himself. It was easier to turn a blind eye to the tension, to even turn his head and survey their surroundings as snippets of conversation were passed back and forth; it was easier to think for a moment that he was not third party to witness something he felt he had nothing to contribute to. He certainly didn't share the majority of the sorrow.

When silence had fallen again, his attention turned back to the pair before his gaze dropped towards the ground for a moment. It wasn't just about Charon that rubbed salt in fresh wounds—Jarilo had lost his mother, too, and Dirge felt that was the real tragedy. Given the extension of his father's infidelity, a female caller along the borders could have easily thrown kerosene in those wounds too. The only way he knew how to deaden the pain was the make it burn until it didn't any more; he made an inquiry to satisfy his own curiosity: "How did you know Charon?"