tear me to pieces, skin to bone

Loren pressed his lips together. When he spoke, his voice was low and lacked any real emotion. "No. I think having you intervene is just going to make them hate me more. And you a little too." Indeed, the dark looks had only intensified even if the physical altercations had stopped. Still digging, he didn't even bother glancing up from his work to respond to the Hale. "Considering you just ousted Neron and Zariah, any hint of defiance from me will just cause them to paint me with the same brush." Again, Loren didn't sound bothered by that. Didn't sound like much of anything but tired, resigned, and distant. As the other man came to help Loren, he didn't respond much. He just lifted his half of the rock and moved it to the pile as quickly as possible. Setting it down carefully, he dusted off his hands. "Thank you." Turning, he picked up his shovel again and got back to digging. It was backbreaking work, trying to get through the already frozen ground. LOREN Not quite an open book