"Yeah...all of us." He realized, too late, that he probably should have just expressed his feelings personally, instead of hiding what he felt behind the cloak of the Shepherds as a whole. There was a lot he wanted to say, but he didn't think the time was right. Not yet. Reluctantly his hand fell from her shoulder as he resisted the urge to let his fingers drift through her strands of long, pale hair. No, he had to stay his heart, for now. Only once he was good and truly ready, and when she was good and truly ready, would he allow his desires to be bared.

"And you don't have to repeat it often," he assured her, his smile returning. "We know. ...I know. And I'm proud to fight at your side."