As soon as the room had been emptied of all but the two brothers, Shade turned to his older sibling and threw his arms around him. He held onto him as tightly as he could and felt a transcended feeling of safety. The voices still cried out loudly around him, but listening to the sound of his brother’s heartbeat began to set his young spirit at ease. Night held him closely and nuzzled him, affectionately. Like Tod, he couldn’t begin to understand what Shade was experiencing, but he wanted to help him through it. Seeing him so incredibly disturbed was something he could not stand idly by and do nothing. Even if he couldn’t completely eliminate his torture, he could still help to relieve his stress, even if it was just a little bit.

“Shade, you didn’t have to come here.” he said, gently stroking his abundant, straight, black hair. “I know this has to be so hard for you. I’m going to take you to the Forest Temple for tonight, but tomorrow, I want you and your mother to go to one of the nearby islands. You can rest and relax there without having to deal with all of this.”

“…but, you were here all by yourself.” the boy whimpered. “You have to help all these people, all by yourself. I know this was hard for you, too.”

“Oh, Shade…” he sighed, holding him a little closer. “I wasn’t born with your gift. I can’t feel the pain and regrets of the dead the way you can. This may have been difficult for me, but it’s nothing compared to the mental and emotional hardship you’re going through right now. I’d never want you to be in this much pain for my own sake. I’ll be fine. It means enough to me that you wanted to be here, but I want you to leave this place. I can’t stand seeing you like this and I know I’m not the only one. Your mother and your brothers, no one wants to see you suffering like this.”

“But…I can help.” he sobbed. “Just like with that girl, I can help them so you don’t have to do so much.”