[She smiles at him, a soft, warm look. What a kind young man he was, to worry for her feelings. Even if his curiosity had trumped his concern. She hardly blamed him. It may have been her business, Nirad's business, but from her understanding they were the first active agents these new Hosts had met. They had to be wonder what would become of them.]

It's alright. It was quite some time ago.

[Misfortune happened to all. You couldn't dwell on it, or it would tear at your mind. Leave you uncalmed and haunted and ungrounded. The fact that her loss was an unavoidable part of her- that it was always there, an empty space that should have been filled- didn't mean she could allow it to consume her. She acknowledged it and accepted it. It had happened. That was all there was to it.]

But typically you would be with your brood. We are something of an exceptional circumstance.