Boyle leaned back against the cave wall and rubbed his eyes. He sank to the floor, grateful to have a moment to himself. Myst had gone out, grumbling under her breath after he kept the windswept tunic from her. She was probably stomping around the mountainside, collecting goblin toenails and cursing him with every step.

This might have delighted him a couple of days ago, but today he found he had trouble caring. No maniacal laughter filled up his chest. No wily glory roused to lift up his cheeks into that smile that he knew made Ingrid shift in her seat and curse under her breath. Boyle buried his face in his hand, there, alone. He didn't feel fine.

He hurt.

Accepting that, Boyle felt tears sting the corners of his eyes. A coldness swept through his ribcage that grew sharper with every passing breath. He covered his mouth with his fist and sobbed, fingers on his other hand knotting through his hair.

He was scared, and he missed Fang. Was his dog going to be okay? Was he ever going to see him again? That big, stupid, courageous loyal animal, who was still as happy to see him now as he was any day during their stint at world domination? The air felt empty around him, and he kept expecting to see a flash of grey out of the corner of his eye, but there was none.

Moments passed, and Boyle's gasps for air were twice loud enough to echo off the cave walls. Wiping his face on his sleeve, he tried to bury the bursting of emotion. The last thing he needed was for Myst to walk in and see him blubbering like a fool on the floor. He took a few deep breaths, feeling the worst had quelled, but it hadn't entirely gone away. The next few minutes seemed to fill with silence as he tried to cope with the feeling, still dark and cutting within him. His eyes wouldn't quite dry, and he sniffed.

A quiet tip tap came from around the cave bend. Boyle looked up. Myst stood there in fox form, expression unreadable, somber in her dark eyes. She paused and seemed to taste the air. Boyle sat stock still. Were his eyes red? Could foxes sense emotion?

Myst regarded him for a moment, then slowly crossed the cavern towards him. Boyle watched her get closer, and then suddenly she was stepping on his lap. She curled up there on top of him and bumped her head up against his hand. Shaking, Boyle felt the familiar feeling of fur under his fingers. Myst closed her eyes. Boyle hesitated, then scratched between her ears, carefully. Myst leaned into it.

Boyle looked up, top of his head against the cave wall. The feelings inside him broke through, for grief and for the feeling of an animal near him again. He stroked Myst's white pelt and let the tears come as they would, sheltering this little creature in his lap. Myst let him fuss over her, ever patient. Time passed, neither of them needing more than the silence.