Larksong Grotto i see fire

perhaps his comment had not been well-received. but laurel was speaking again, and mahler chose to focus upon this. 
she climbed swiftly and far too closely onto the back of his greatest sin. mahler fought hard every outward reaction, but despite his fiercest stance, the charcoal ears flung back for a moment.
"i am sorry to hear this, laurel," the gargoyle muttered. in truth he was deeply ashamed, and somehow his heart sought ownership of her past sorrows. was this how any of his brood were to grow? deadbeat was a sort of word where the meaning was clear though maybe previously unheard, and this was so for mahler. 
he was relieved to see a lack of misery on her face. "vill you tell me more about your sister?" the man asked, turning his expression toward the features here, birdsong cascading around them. "i vas raised an only child," mahler gave by way of explanation, pondering an oddly colored stone upon the ground. "some part of me alvays vished for a brother."