[ And yet Giles still feels the need to apologise and lay blame on himself, because since the beginning over dozens of text messages Sharky had consistently mimicked a style that was only used to establish the correct person had been reached. The one time he didn't, it turned out not to be him, and yet it hadn't registered at all to Giles beyond a vague unsettled feeling he couldn't place. But he gives a non-committal hum that's supposed to come across as agreement anyway. ]

It will take a long time to heal from this, for everyone, and I doubt that it will ever truly go away.

That great yawning empty was... One of the worst things I have ever experienced.

[ Isn't that a happy thought, that it was comparable if not worse than what Arcadia had to offer. ]