( maybe if kyna hadn't come to him first an' told him plain, his reaction would be different. now, all's he does is close his eyes a half-heartbeat longer than a blink, jaw working.

if it had to be anyone else, he supposes he's glad it's irwin. least his death was quick. painless by contrast with what it seems like most everyone else has been through. he's just sorry about his part in puttin' wade back in the war. he closes the distance between them, drops a hand down against the man's shoulder and squeezes. )

S'all right. This place has that way about it, huh? Sorry about the cold. Worst winter on record for the last forty years in Europe, by all counts.