"No. You'll still have to face it when you go back." He sighs, resettles into the hug. "Whatever you did just before returning is done now, even if something much larger has only begun," Devin clarifies, still with that gentle, firm tone. Reassuring but not coddling is the stance he's going for, rather than the bluntness he'd once chosen in a forest of crimson leaves. "And you will have to live with the decisions you made. That's not cowardice. If anything, having to wait and wonder is much worse than simply remaining in the natural flow of time. It gives us too many opportunities to think of what we might have done, or what we'll yet do, but nothing we do here will ultimately change the decisions we make in our worlds."

It's cruel, really, how many of them have to be held in suspense over such dire circumstances. How many lives and relationships hang in the balance. Aly had given him a vague outline of her situation back home not long after they'd both arrived in Aifaran, when she'd come to him for advice. A few things came to mind as possible causes for her distress based on that, but Devin set the speculating aside again.

"When you're ready, I'll listen to anything you're willing to tell me," Devin offers quietly. "Later. Let's get you cleaned up for now, hm?"