[He smiles faintly at all of the ways she talks around caring. He won't assume, but it does feel rather like he's being wrapped up in a warm hug when she asks if she needs to break kneecaps. Oh, how he wishes it were that simple.]
No need. It's a tragedy, not a betrayal. [He thinks. He's relatively certain Louis isn't telling him something else, and he can imagine how he reacted to William's death.] My younger brother, William... He arrived here after his entirely unfortunate death. I haven't experienced it in my time, and both he and Louis know a great many things I do not, so they understandably hesitate to tell me.
[For a man she knows to be steadfast and stubborn to a degree, always strong, and more often than not a little bit of a smartass, the next part might be surprising.]
What has me questioning myself is... certainty that I failed them. They don't see it that way, of course. But when an older brother can't protect his younger...
no subject
No need. It's a tragedy, not a betrayal. [He thinks. He's relatively certain Louis isn't telling him something else, and he can imagine how he reacted to William's death.] My younger brother, William... He arrived here after his entirely unfortunate death. I haven't experienced it in my time, and both he and Louis know a great many things I do not, so they understandably hesitate to tell me.
[For a man she knows to be steadfast and stubborn to a degree, always strong, and more often than not a little bit of a smartass, the next part might be surprising.]
What has me questioning myself is... certainty that I failed them. They don't see it that way, of course. But when an older brother can't protect his younger...