[ Jake listens quietly, expression remaining neutral even in the darkest parts of his tale. There were words he didn't know, places that rang through unfamiliar, but those details were secondary. The story Cal told now was an old story, and a universal one. Friend sacrificing themself for friend, putting themself second so that their kin could live. The details that made it alien didn't matter; it was the core of it that struck through Jake's heart.

He stretches an arm around the boy's shoulder reflexively, rubbing his back on instinct. Whether those instincts were that of his species or his own paternal senses, Jake couldn't be sure. ]

You should've never been in that situation in the first place, kid. Neither of you should've. It's not fair. [ The hand against his back presses firm, as if trying to hammer home the point physically. ] You're just a kid.