Even though he set her down, Biffy lingered a moment. In his home city and with a different man, it would have been utterly inappropriate, but here it came naturally to him to offer that little intimacy. Biffy knew the nature of this city and he knew, now, the nature of immortality. It was loss, always loss. Blue without her boys was like a wolf without a pack. Untethered.

He was not the right kind of man and she was not a wolf, but he could try.

"You just sit," he said, in case she was about to be polite. If he could do away with manners then Blue damned well deserved it. As it was, Pawvus came ambling out and laid himself across her lap. In a moment, he could hear the engine-like rumble of his purr and thought perhaps he ought to be giving the cat a little more credit. Maybe he wasn't the cleverest beast, but he was smart enough to know when a warm weight might help.

Rather than separate himself in the kitchen, Biffy brought the kettle out to Blue. Already there were a few tins of looseleaf and a pot with cups on the table. It would do. "I know exactly how you feel," he agreed sadly. Even now, with the farmhouse brimming with people, he could still remember the day he'd gone there and known for sure that Scott and Bay were gone.