Calliope almost retracted their hand, but not right away. They were entertaining the theory that Darius was touch starved, like many, many people they had met, hence just let their palm slide along his back, while Darius told his story. “He was not terrible to you.” Was all Chéri had to say. The caresses continued, accompanied only by the silence. Calliope didn’t display anything more than some form of participation to Darius’s grief.