It was a hurt he did not wish to bear, but his future seemed to hold many of them. He wished Walburga had not told him, but it was better than finding out elsewhere. In that she was right. "Nothing." he murmured in reply, holding to that inarguable truth. Walburga had fallen into a loveless marriage that managed to somehow twist his beloved sister into a wretched woman and Alphard had been burned from the family tree and left to die. For all their efforts, they reaped very little reward. Just cruelty and bitterness.
Nodding in reply, Alphard licked his lips, ignoring the sour taste in his mouth as he settled his gaze back on the window. Her weight at his side drew his attention once more, a look of mild surprise etched into his features. It remained there for a flicker of a moment before his features smoothed and he hesitantly lifted his arm so she could fit under it. This. This was familiar. And comforting. It did not ease the ache in his chest or his inner turmoil, but it settled him. "I did try, Walburga." he whispered then, the weight of everything settling on top of him. "To be- normal." Not that he was abnormal, but ... Gods, it was so difficult. The future seemed so open, but in his own time it was hide to survive. He was not used to speaking of it so frankly.