you feel so tired but you can't sleep

No amount of effort trying to hold back his tears seemed to work. Had he ever just sat and cried over all of his losses, he wondered to himself? Maybe here and there, but he'd never really sat down and cried over it.... and he hadn't expected today to be that day. But all of a sudden the tears were streaming down his cheeks and he was lowering himself near Poem. In a way he'd had long since acknowledged his own personal losses, of his parents and his sister, but had he really allowed himself to stop and grieve properly? Maybe he hadn't. But now he felt a weight beginning to lift off his shoulders as he cried, quietly but obviously.

"I hate it too," he agreed somberly. It was hard - life in general could be hard, and Poem was young enough that maybe she hadn't fully understood the depth of just how much harder it could get. Hopefully not too much more difficult, but he knew that was already a possibility. "I miss Shaye, too. She was good to me. Helped me figure out what I wanted to do within Abaven, who I wanted to be." At first he'd been wary when she and Rhyme had returned. Change had seemed strange to him back then, but as he got older he began to realize that Shaye harbored the same ideals as the rest of his family. Losing her had been a loss for all of them, he had no doubt about that. "I have no doubt we'll both find happiness again. It's not easy, but it's not impossible either," he offered a little smile toward her, hoping she felt a bit better, even if she hadn't wanted his company at first. Honestly, he did... even with his cheeks damp from tears he hadn't meant to fall.