Behind him, Ken will feel Wagtail frantically scramble to grasp Raven's hand. It's okay. He's going to fix this; fix everything. "Raven, it's okay," he says authoritatively, sounding for a moment not unlike his older self before he turns to Ken.

"Ken, it's okay. It's okay," he says again. Everything he's wished he could say to his mother—at least the acceptable things—he summons now. "It must really be awful, huh?"

Why is it so unbearable, so painful? He wants to know.