Still unsettled by the Head Instructor acting so out of character, Duncan rounded the corner faster than he intended and looked up from the floor into the tear-streaked eyes of his student. He floundered, unsure of what to say or how to react; waterworks had always caught Duncan unprepared. He could guess well enough what was on her mind; of all his students from Dollet, Eika was one of the only ones with family there. There had been no word on casualties as yet but... he doubted that half of Dollet's citizens would survive the night. After a few false starts, he was able to marshal his thoughts. [b]'I... can't understand what you're going through, but I sympathise. I've never lost family but, uh... in this line of work, sometimes you... lose friends.'[/b] After a moment of awkward silence, he stepped forward and gently pulled Eika's head into his chest, hoping that his condolences would be felt rather than heard. [b]'It never gets any easier and I've never found a way to cope. So don't... don't hold it in.'[/b] While he could not truly understand what Eika was going through and prayed that he never could, the SeeD understood loss and so even if he couldn't quite find the words to comfort the girl, he did his best to be there for her. [b]'Some... sometimes I find it helps to... talk about... these things. Then again, other times I find that killing things helps. Part of being a merc I guess.'[/b] Aside from that last slight moment of introspection, Duncan had no advice to give, no great words of consolation and felt pretty damn useless for it...