It was as if they were all still watching him, hounding him for some failure that he had to own to, and hadn't. The shop had perhaps been his attempt at running away from that, whatever else he had told himself. He struggled to find the words. "It... I should have found them. There were so many of us, I should have found someone..." His voice shook, he realized with a start. He was letting his emotions get out of hand. He took a deep breath and tried to steady himself. He very nearly succeeded. There was a long gap between these words and the next, but still Qual said nothing, only watching him.
"I remember how it felt to have others of my kind around me. It was too long ago to say, but I recall it. You said you knew your boy from the hints in his face--- now I feel something familiar to my people, but I can't say what." His hands itched for something to do. Alain's eyes darted back to the shelf with the cups, and his polishing cloth left unfolded at the counter. He moved to pick it up, folding it neatly and setting it down again.