Grieving. Had Archer really meant that much to her, or had the Cove already experienced another death? No wonder they were finally leaving the mountain. Hearing it said had struck an odd chord with him. There was so much good in that, but, where would they end up then? His whole life, they had been right there.

@Leo had been right there, even if he'd never truly taken advantage of that proximity. Not like he should have, even after...

You're a medic, right?

Eros blinked, having been staring fixedly ahead as his paws ate up the ground. His pace yearned to be much more quicker than Nash's tired gait, but he couldn't leave the man behind. Sometimes he'd get so far ahead he'd have to stop entirely and wait on jittering legs for the leader to catch up. This time, they'd been rather close. He looked at him, wondering if this was about any reservations he might have in allowing him to provide care.

"Yeah, specifically trained by my Ma since I was about half a year old and practicing in full for nearly a year now."

Nash's response befuddled him, and it showed, though without any of the expressive vibrancy Eros had once been known for. Her? Since when were they talking about a- oh. The edges of his features cringed with something akin to empathy, even if he was likely never to be a father. There were deaths that could hit just as hard, as he'd very freshly learned.

He kept looking ahead now, not sure what he really had to give to Nash. His lessons had focused primarily on physical care, at Eros' own insistence. He was going to be out in the wilds, fighting all manners of wildlife off and saving lives from real threats, after all! What did he need to know about emotions and sitting around talking? It had all seemed so dry cut and simple. He'd really, genuinely thought he'd had all the answers as a kid.

But, Clover would know. Not only that, she was going through losses of her own. Eros knew exactly what his best offer could be, but was it really an option? He could just picture the look on his father's face... In a better world, though, the two women could have begun visiting with each other. Leaned on each other, supported one another, and maybe that could have helped. What else was there, when the cause of your pain was death?

His mouth had gone dry.

"Um," he tried to swallow, then finally glanced Nash's way again, "I don't... I really don't know that I have that answer."

His voice was soft, raw, honest. Eros had only just fallen into his own well of ink-black grief. He couldn't even see the light for himself.

The impact his response had on the older wolf was hard to witness. Eros had to look away, his eyes burning and his heart aching. Here he was, throwing his all into helping save someone else's life while questioning his willingness to continue with his own. All of this death and grief were too much, too constant. Could he really be that strong, to do this for years and years more? Did he really want to be?

'I'm... I'm sorry to hear about Archer.'

Eros flinched, a subtle but visible twitch along the line of his shoulders. It was his turn to duck his head, which was still not quite facing his company, leaving his features in shadow. What was the opposite of 'from strength to strength'?

"Yes," he answered, voice small and broken. She knew. They all had, deep in their gut, even before he'd gotten his cursed proof.

"... I'm sorry, too. For what you've lost."

It was awful, truly. Even if they were responsible for Sephrina, Eros wouldn't have wanted the same to happen to someone else in turn, much less repeatedly.

But they were reaching the den now, and he realized he would have gone to the wrong place. He'd even assumed she'd had a litter this year (what couple didn't seem compelled to consistently churn out batch after batch of namesakes?), yet it hadn't clicked that she would be at a whelping den instead of the infirmary that he was familiar with.

It hit him too, that he was lacking some vital information. A sickly shock shot up his spine and caused him to freeze completely, peach eyes going wide with a deep, remorseful dread as he finally looked at Nash again.

"We don't know how he's hurt. I didn't ask what his injuries even are."

The horror of his own misstep was plain to see, as though this would cause everything else to grind to a halt as well. Having to retrack, having to waste even a small amount of time more, having simply not thought were things that got wolves killed. Eros reigned himself in quickly. He pinched his eyes shut and took in a sharp inhale. Were he human, he would have held the bridge of his nose as well. When he let the breath out again, he was back in motion, past the speed bump.

"We'll prepare for anything. Everything."