There's a wistful smile there, over the pain of a loss that's had so very many years to dull. "He was my first and only ally in a world in which we both fit poorly. I would rather have lost my right arm, for if I had, at least I would have had one source of unconditional support to bear me through it."

They pause, and then shake their head slightly. "Well, the past can not be changed, at least not without such an expenditure of aether that one boy's life could never be worth the cost. Better to face the future I have left."