Blackfeather Woods a distant ship smoke on the horizon

There are no words that he can speak to ease their shared pain, no prayer to any gods that would bring back what was lost, and so he is silent while Maegi burrows against him. Her admission, her want, meets his ears but earns no visible response. Titmouse thinks of the island and the fond memories there; they sit in opposition to the terrible trauma of his loss, and for a moment he feels guilty for choosing the brighter past before their family came to ruin.

He shifts beneath Maegi's touch and then stills. It is his turn to speak, to break the oppressive silence within which he wallows, but he is out of practice and lets it suffocate him a little longer. The conversation stales — but he sucks in a breath and mutters, Why. The cyclops looks at the silvery fur of his wife, watching the rise and fall of her breathing. It is not home.