Taylor watched the girl smile as she received what the other girl assumed to be a letter from home. A familiar feeling of regret sent a familiar itch through her body, but simply stroking the ropey scar on her right forearm made it fade a little. Now was not the time to miss the past. She had a letter upstairs from her mother, and she planned to ignore it as long as humanly possible. And as much as she didn't want to lie to Bryony, she wasn't going to tell her how she was really feeling today. So with a noncommittal noise and a mouth full of eggs, she had neither confirmed nor denied Bryony's question. 

Absentmindedly, she handed Silas a piece of sausage, that he ate with great enthusiasm. She smiled at him fondly, her mind working. Class would start soon. Then she would be a bit more relaxed- well, depending on the class... But they would let her forget about the letter lying on her bed. If she had thought about it, she could have sent Silas back with the letter unopened. But even after all of these years she was waiting on a letter of love. She had to sigh heavily at that. The only person who had any love for her was three years in her grave. Silas was all she had left that didn't hate her. She stroked his glossy black feathers, sudden affection for the little barn owl coursing through her. His amber eyes met hers, and he clicked his beak reproachfully. He knew her thoughts, the ones she wouldn't even voice to herself. She had to kiss that ghostly pale heart-shaped face of his. He was all she had. Then she sent him on his way to the owlery with another piece of sausage. Class would start soon.