Broken Antler Fen fire & smoke

What? His confusion slips out before he can stop it. The past tense does not slip by him, but he's too distracted by the larger implications of the statement to acknowledge it. Why? He pauses, gaze flitting past the boy as if the landscape might provide answers. A knot begins to form in his stomach, though he has yet to fully grasp the reason, and he finds himself speaking again. I didn't know her very long...