Sable walked closer. "Rocky," he said again. "Your face is sad. Very sad. Like the saddest stone I've ever seen."
Rocky looked up. His eyes were wet.
"I'm okay," he whispered.
Sable's eyes widened. "You're crying."
Rocky wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. "I'm not crying. I'm... expressing moisture."
Kelpie turned around. "Expressing moisture?"
Rocky nodded. "Yes."
Kelpie frowned. "That's not a thing."
Lucien walked over, his expression calm but curious. "Rocky, what's wrong?"
Rocky looked at the altar. At Dante. At the path where Alina would appear.
He swallowed hard.
"I thought," he said quietly, "that when I grew up... I would marry Teacher."
Sable blinked in shock. His mouth fell open.
Kelpie's water droplets froze mid-air.
Lucien's red eyes widened.
Dante, who had definitely been listening, coughed.
Sable finally found his voice. "You what?"
