He feels the sudden tension run through her body, and glances over at her speculatively. He doesn't know exactly what it's about, but he supposes he's prepared to guess. Time, for him, has become somewhat fluid - sometimes it does seem to move faster than it does for everyone else, but sometimes it seems to crawl interminably. The one thing he's learned, however, is that he can never take a day for granted - not when it is one of the few left for him to spend with the people he loves. That lesson he learned a long time ago, when his body had not yet ceased aging, and his many adventures in the employ of Spirit World had not yet begun.

"Still," he says softly, watching her carefully for a reaction, "I've never quite figured out what hurts more - leaving, or being left behind."