[Kratos flinches at the unexpected touch, turning his face away but submitting wordlessly to the bid for a better look. Then Yuan steps away, and Kratos doesn't know how to feel. It's obvious enough what Yuan is feeling, even with just the view of his back Kratos has; but Kratos can't tell who the anger is for.

[And Kratos can hardly bear to lift his head to look at him properly, even with Yuan turned away.]

A few weeks.

[His voice is low, a touch rough but otherwise flat. His face feels hot, and Kratos realises belatedly that -- he's flushing. With shame. He's ashamed. And why shouldn't he be? He's meant to be able to handle this sort of thing, and he failed utterly. So much for Commander Aurion.

[But he doesn't have anything to say. An explanation wouldn't make it better. So he says nothing else.]