Gallus craned his neck forward and looked at Peiter with his head forward. He gave him another moment before continuing. "Let me put it this way, Peiter. I won't force you to speak about anything that you don't want to, but you have to know that I can't come up with anything to help unless I understand what you're going through." He nodded. "You're an adult now. I trust you to do what you need to do to help yourself. That includes asking for help if you are short on options. I'll always be here for that, so will Uthri."

Taking on a lighter tone, Gallus stood up straight again. "But I'll give you a break from that now. I need to make amends for my own behaviour." Gallus seemed strangely upbeat about the issue he was about to bring up. "It was out of line for me to strike you after the attack. I treated you like a soldier instead of a family member. I was out of sorts for a number of reasons. However..." Gallus returned to a serious tone. "I feel that I also need to apologise formally for cutting you out from under the stone that trapped you." Gallus had his eyes low. "We needed to get out before the gas reached us. Even if we all could have worked together to lift the stone, we would not have been able to before we breathed that infernal stuff. As well, I doubt your arm would have been usable again, even with regeneration. I have seen damage that maims lycans. You might have had your arm, but it would be dead weight. I hope you understand, but...I am still sorry, Peit."

[hr]
Sabine only seemed to become gradually more distraught at Meesei's description. Tears were creeping out of her eyes by the time she responded. "You scared me," Sabine said in a high voice. "Do not hide this all from me!" Sabine brought her head forward onto Meesei's shoulder. "I do not want you to hide the pain from me. I do not care if I cannot help. Knowing that you are okay is better than thinking you are okay. Please. Not after that battle."