Witch's Marsh A Toad's Memory

Rupert! It was a good name. Perfect for a toad, she thought. The image of a pale little boy befriending a toad (and even caring for it so tediously) was beyond cute, and she started to smile - until Marten explained why he looked so empty, and her face lost its glee. Pairing up the terrible news that he'd lost someone so dear and the story of his toad friend made him seem... Sadder, somehow. Ibis frowned and looked down at the dirty snow where she'd been prowling before, watching as the falling flakes filled the petite prints she had left scattered around them.

She didn't know what to say, really, so she let a moment of silence pass, thinking of what she could do - as if there were anything. The best she could do was offer a friendly little nudge of her shoulder against his, being perhaps a little too forward in that moment, but she knew when Lily had died the presence of Okeanos had made her feel better, and hoped to offer something similar to this boy.

I'm sorry. She finally says. I've lost people too. I.. I get it. But she didn't fully comprehend the loss of someone so monumental; Lily had been close to her, but merely a babysitter, more like a big sister. Losing Okeanos most recently (though he was missing and presumed alive somewhere) was hard too, and the thought of her brother dead somewhere curtailed further conversation.

Little did she know of the true losses that were obscured to her. For now Ibis was blissfully ignorant of her own troubles, focused as she was upon Marten. I.. I wish I could do something to help. Is there anything..?