Porcupine Ridge you only live forever in the lights you make

He flinched slightly at her stern tone, but nodded, swallowing the knot in his throat. She was right. It couldn't be risked. He hated to keep Cortland out here, in the open. . .but what was the alternative? Hurt him further, by trying to drag him home? He would hate himself even more than he did in this moment, were that to happen.

"I don't even know what happened," Phocion said, voice stunned. He looked down at the boy, then back up at the healer, letting out a sobbing breath. "Poet, I-- I don't know what to do if I lose him. I'll forever feel responsible for it all. I'll never forgive myself--"

Overwhelmed, he took the few steps between them and pressed his head against her shoulder, losing himself completely. He grieved quietly for a while, nose buried in her plush fur. He hadn't even stopped to think how she'd take the gesture; all he could think about was Cortland's death, and the chaos it would surely leave behind.