[ He smiles, a little; the vaguely distant, emotionally wrung-out smile of someone too tired and distracted to resemble happiness.

But his hands stroked along Shima's neck, dark fingers gliding elegantly along it, ignoring a disapproving, trilling hiss from the shadow perched on the desk. ]

You lost a country; but it is more than just loneliness you feel. Directionless ambition, lost focus and momentum...

So, too, with me. Company alone... isn't enough. But the right company, helps.