Witch's Marsh hearts / wires

she is silent for a long stretch of time. she listens.
a dead sister, a dead brother in law, nephews stolen in the commotion. your sister who lived on the mountain, she says quietly, eyes contorted into an expression of helpless sorrow. i remember.
there was nothing she could possibly say to comfort him, and she knows this. she knew well what it was like to watch your world crumble, what it was like to feel small, impossibly small against the almighty force of nature and of time. but she tries anyway, suddenly breaking the silence with a harsh intake of breath.
you wish everything would just stop, right? she murmurs into the ruff of his shoulder, listening intently to the rise and fall of his breath. like, you just-- everyone else's worlds keep turning while yours is suddenly still. and no one else gets it, gets why. and you feel-- small, and weak, and... like you just can't breathe.
idly, dinah twirls a lock of his fur around a pale claw. his words remind her of the fact that she had left judah behind on the isle for this, and her stomach drops with guilt. we will. we'll get them back.
she pauses for a moment, hesitantly pulling her head back in order to meet her gaze to his. her smile is weak and thin, but it says more than she was capable of communicating in words; i'll take care of you.