[ kaveh thinks of a child who had recently lost his mother. watching that ship sail beyond the fata morgana of an unrealised horizon, the sea spray stinging along chewed lips. he thinks of that child sitting in the house of daena surrounding by the murmuring of peers and the jubilation of them - he thinks of that child feeling alone. the oppressive crush of loneliness can come within a crowd. kaveh knows. had been that child, once.

kaveh isn't certain that he has grown up from being that child, in truth. he had told midnight such, that we don't grow up from our mistakes - only into the best shape meant to carry them forward, and kaveh has always carried his mistakes with him like cloistered treasures. don quixote leads, and kaveh follows. he thinks about a don who sits there with her troubles alone because she is too capable to be helped. ]

Have you heard the phrase - that it's the baby bird that chirps the loudest that obtains the worm? In a nest of baby birds, the mother bird only comes back with a single worm to feed them. How does she know which baby bird to feed? The one who calls out the loudest. And the one who lets itself be, who silences its calls... [ kaveh shakes his head. ] I don't think of you as a baby bird, Don. But I think when you're too capable and self-sufficient, it's those who want you to rely on them that are hurt the most. It's not rational, or logical. But it's simply the way people are.