Brennan held her, not too tight that she felt trapped, but no so loose as to let her go. As she spoke, her words took him back to the battle as well, but he stayed silent. Right now, she needed someone to listen to her. Even if he did not want to hear. But he could not stop the slight tensing of his arms and hands at certain points in her story, as particular parts hit home for him.
He remembered his own mother, eyes wide with bloodlust and killing, killing, killing until she died. What else he knew came in flashes, as his recollections of the battle were spotty at best, and only mere impressions at worst. Cold, and blood, and pain. The sickly feeling of letting so much magic go that he could feel bits of himself flowing away with it. Flashing of metal and unfriendly, foreign faces. Of finding himself at the foot of the mountain with no life before him and no life behind him.
Eyes closed, he brought his hand up to the back of her head. He stroked her still wet hair and let her rest against his chest, not minding the patch of dampness from her hair on his shoulder. Brennan always seemed to know just what to say to reassure someone, to bolster their spirits when they were low, but now nothing with his usual fluency came to mind. Instead, he ducked his head and hoarsely whispered, "I'm glad that you did not die, Imenry Barras. Every day, I clung to the hope that you were alive. Even though I could not find you, just believing that you were out there kept me looking for you, so you can't die on me yet!" His last word broke into a half choked laugh that was more emotion than humor.
"I saw my mother die, so you're the only the only one I have left." He knew that Eirlys had to be dead, she was not a fighter so she had no protection. He had not been there to protect her or her son. But he felt the same hatred and anger that Imenry felt, the desire to see those who killed the people most precious to him die. And to die by his hand. Only he did not know where to start looking for that information. Perhaps...perhaps that was why he and Imenry yet lived, so as to avenge the destruction of their village.