[ he can hear the slight trauma in her tone, how that place somehow must have shaken her. it was jarring for him to experience that change, but somehow, he'd had an easier time accepting it. the gift of being an envoy — you learn to resist a psychotic break when the change is overwhelming. ]

When life isn't about ... constantly changing your entire face, you begin to forget the smaller changes. The way the body ages with time, wrinkles deepening, scars forming. It's the slight visuals to what's happening on the inside — the change of the mind.

[ he gives a small shrug like it's a casual thought, even when it's anything but. ]

Maybe it'd been a way to show us what really has changed. Maybe how this place has changed us too.