A lot to unpack here. Fr’Nj has so often been “along for the ride” with the Peacemakers, it’s sometimes easy to forget she has her own internal narratives about the jobs they do and the enemies they fight. The Cultists-Naror’Nj link is interesting, too.

Some would say “Some would say” to mean “I would say,” especially if they’re reticent about their own beliefs, as Scipio often is. But I don’t think that’s what he’s doing here. He knows how Gravedust’s powers work, and what that implies about the world beyond. I think that rather, he’s pointing out that other people–those without faith or supernatural experience–have had to deal with the concept of their loved ones being gone on every level, just as he and Fr’Nj now have to do with Rachel.

“I wanted to counsel E-Merl” leaves it a bit ambiguous for now about whether E-Merl’s been updated on the casualty lists. Realistically, in my opinion, the only way he could not have found out was if he’d totally missed the group’s return. But when we next see him, he and Bandit will be physically isolated from the others, enough so that it looks like he might not have been told yet.

Scipio telling Fr’Nj she’s entitled to grieve is a good boyfriend moment for him, just like offering to talk was. Often, all we need from our partners is permission to feel our deepest feelings without feeling any shame about the display. But that’s not enough for this situation, not this time. Fr’Nj also needs Scipio to do what’s hard for him: feel his own deepest feelings about Rachel.