It wouldn't do to linger in this. There was no point when he had no point of reference, and Cain was already trying to shore himself back up. It was something he had done hundreds of thousands of times, every time a little easier than the last, except now it was like he'd been broken down near the base and had to try again from the start. Swallowing harsh, he pulled his legs closer to him and shifted as if to make room for Valdis, or maybe lessen the space he was taking up. Confidence that usually emanated like an aura was muted, Romulus' quiet replacing the space.

He breathed, let things slowly return to their proper places. This pain wasn't going to go away easily but he could at least bring himself to work around it. That was how he always did it, had to process in order to function. Little sparks of anxiety and nerves and pain echoed across his subconscious. They'd definitely poked something bad in there.

"It's okay, Valdis," he said. Whatever he had seen in there, he didn't intend to share. His own hurts were not something she needed to carry, whatever it was she saw. "See?"