The ache wells up in his chest again as he looks at his brother. For a little while, it's almost been as though they aren't even here; just in a strange, liminal space neither Erku or Exandria. But the weight of their current reality hits him once more; how long they've been separated, how much he's missed the few familiar elements of home. It is a little hard to believe he is really here, even after the last hour.

"...can it not be both?" Essek asks softly. The offer is both sincere and empty; he won't remember to ask him whenever the Augur sees fit to send him back, or to end his timeline here, or whatever it is that truly happens. This conversation won't have happened, and having Verin close to him in Exandria only puts him at risk.

But here, and now, he can be honest, at least.

"Besides...we are both here for the foreseeable future. Perhaps we can make up for lost time here, instead."