It isn't selfish to want to live, Dohalim. [Gepard does squash that idea quite immediately, the words sharp and firm.] I sincerely doubt that this guilt would be lost on Tarnigen in the event that he had done the same. The fact that you had to make that decision at all... tells me more than the report ever did.

[He's old enough, experienced enough, to know that something bad happened - and he's experienced enough to know that it isn't easy to accept. Even without knowing the details, let alone Dohalim's reason for keeping some of them private, he can understand the man's want to take this guilt onto himself.]

Everyone has a reason for the actions they take. They weigh the risks, and they act on them. Questioning it doesn't make it easier to see why someone should be without their beloved, and it doesn't help you to ease the burden for yourself or provide closure to any side. The same is as true of Tarnigen as it is of a defector who chooses to attack a Lord for the sake of their family. [There's no attempt to shadow the depth of that - it's well known that rebels and defectors rarely do so out of some abstract, evil concept, and yet they must be dealt with appropriately nonetheless.] I know that it's a hollow comfort, but it's all I can offer. You needn't carry this weight alone. If you try, it may just bury you - especially since you're also carrying Fahria's pain and anguish on your own shoulders.