The girl kind of just went quiet for a little bit while he talked... that was what he needed to do, just talk. Let everything spill out, she supposed. She'd expected him to tell her about this, but she's hadn't expected him to think she'd hate him for it... god, she could never hate him, certainly not over this. He must have been through so much in that awful place... so many awful things must have happened, and she felt awful for making him relive it like this. He was trying to survive... for him and his sister. And as horrible as it was, it was all he could do. He was trying his hardest, and that was all he could do. "God Sage," she whispered as she gently wrapped an arm around his side. "Don't think that anything you could do would make me hate you," she told him quietly. She wasn't sure if there was anything else she could say to him to make him feel better. "You were trying to survive, for your sister and that was all you could do," she whispered, her hand softly trailing up and down his side in what she hoped would be a comforting manner. Her eyes fell onto the marks on his neck.. scars, was what they were. She was going ask about them, but right then he seemed like he was begging himself not to cry. The sound of his voice cracking just made her heart ache for him... and she wasn't sur what to do.

Sage couldn't help but turn towards the girl and wrap himself around her tightly when she reached for him and reassured him she wouldn't hate him for this. He sort of just shook his head slightly and buried his face into her chest. He could feel a few tears leaking from underneath his eyelids, though he sort of just sniffed and tried harder to hold them back. "I know but..." He trailed off, not really sure what else to say or how to finish the sentence. Amber had come over by then, pacing worriedly behind him, meowing loudly until he reached over to pick her up and tug her towards him. "You and Anya and the doctor are the only ones who know," he murmured after a moment.

Mari let the boy hug onto her, and rested her head just on top of his. She placed a hand softly on the back of his head so he felt just a bit more secure... she could feel his tears seeping through her shirt, and in that moment she felt her heart shatter for him... this man, this wonderful person who'd so quickly become... well, her world, he was crying in her arms and she didn't have a single clue as to what to do about it. She could feel him shaking against her every time he tried to stop a ear, and it just made a kind of strain on her chest in a way she couldn't quite explain. "I'm so sorry," her voice crackled to him... she was apologising for making him relive what was obviously a nasty experience... and for all the people that made him have to go through it. Seeing him like this... it broke her in the most horrible of ways, and she didn't know how to help him.

Sage chook his head slightly in response to the girl's comment. "You didn't do anything wrong," he murmured after a quick sniff. "I'm just...messed up. Crying over everything seemed to be pretty common now, and he quite honestly hated it. He shouldn't be making her feel that way...he was supposed to be helping her too. He sort of just clung to both her and the cat, seeking out their comfort until he forced the tears all back and took a deep breath. "I'm ok," he murmured shakily after a moment, not wanting to bother the girl anymore than he already had.

Mari shook her head to him a little and bit her cheeks. "No... you've been through so much," she whispered to him before running her hand through his hair. "You're not messed up... not at all," she murmured quietly before resting her cheek on his head. "You just need a bit of time, is all," she told him before leaning away from him ever so slightly so that she could look him in the eye... though she immediately regretted it. He just looked so broken... she hated that. She hated that he still felt like this and probably always would. The tugging on her chest just seemed to turn into burning, and now she had to swallow a lump in her own throat. When he noted that he was okay, she just held onto him... not really believing a word of it.

Sage snorted at the girl's first few comments, shaking his head slightly. No, he needed to fix himself. He should be better than what he was. Besides, he'd had time....he'd been at the castle for a long time, multiple times, and everything was all the same. He still lived through those things....maybe not physically but through dreams and flashbacks and quick anipits of things that made him feel exactly like he had in the real moment, both mentally and physically. He did appreciate the girl continuing to hold him, though, since he was still quite obviously shaken. And, admittedly, terrified. He wasn't even sure what he was so afraid of ...but he felt awful. And he needed to make himself better, he just didn't know how. That was something his dad had right he supposed....he should get better.

The girl sat with him for a little while and just let him stay with his head on her chest, so that he could hide from the world for just a little bit longer. She had to console herself a little bit, too... he didn't need someone else upset for him... crying for him. It would just make him feel worse. So she just held him, for as long as she could, one hand playing with his hair and the othe wrapped around his back. She wondered if the doctor would know what to do with him right then... or if she was doing the right thing. Was there something she should say to make him feel better? Or maybe he needed to do something to do to get his mind off of all this. Or, just maybe, she was going the right thing by letting him sit in silence for a while.

Sage was grateful for the moments of silence that gradually extended...he usually would want to get up and do something, but he was just so tired. Not just physically, but emotionally too...and letting him just cuddle up, and relax in a place he knew he was safe...the was probably the most helpful thing anyone could do for him. Mari had seemed to catch on the playing with his hair was calming, which was nice too. He did really like that. He could tell the girl was upset, and he felt a bit guilty about it all, but she had wanted to know...and he'd feel worse if he'd lied to her, so he didn't regret his decision. After a few moments of silence, he managed to whisper out a "thank you" to the girl sort of just leaning his head on her shoulder. "I'm sorry I'm so..." He trailed off then, not knowing what to say to finish the comment. Useless? Upsetting? Pathetic? There wasn't a perfect word he could think of to encompass all of that. That didn't make him feel much better about himself, either.

Mari shook her head when he started to apologise to her... that seemed to hurt the most. He felt like he had to apologise for being messed up... for everything he'd been through. And that he needed to thank her for comforting him? Of course he didn't need to do that. She'd sit with him forever, if it only helped him a little bit. "No, no don't be sorry," she whispered to him as she closed her eyes a little bit. She'd really do anything if it made him feel just a little bit better. Just the tiniest little bit, even if it was just a moment of him feeling like he was more than he normally felt, she'd die to see that. She wrapped her arms around his side, not really wanting to let go of him for a second. "You'll get there, you'll be better one day," she whispered quietly. "But I'll sit with you for as long as you need until then, just say the word," she hummed quietly. She meant it too... she really did.

Sage leaned into the girl slightly more when she started speaking, the lump in his throat climbing up again. His eyes started to well up with tears again, though these weren't upset tears, he didn't think. No...these were just thankful ones, he supposed. He sort of just tried to blink them away and sniffed again. "You're gonna make me cry again," he sort of choked out with a kind of amused chuckle. He was a little embarrassed about it, but it was also slightly amusing too...the fact that he seemed to be so strong and then the minute someone actually helped him out he started bawling like a baby. Well, not quite so loud...but the point was still made. He sort of just shook his head slightly at her other comments, wishing it was true. Hoping it was true. He didn't want to feel like this forever. But he did appreciate Mari, so much...even Anya could never help in this way. Nothing she did was wrong, she just didn't understand so much of it, not like Mari did.