Nothing he could say feels meaningful. That it wasn't real? It was at the time, and that hardly matters. He could certainly argue with a specter made out of hungry fear that Rags is not a death-dealing monster, but that hardly seems worth dignifying.

So he'll gladly keep his place, pulling Rags gently to him and petting his hair. "I was hoping to find--I didn't get very far. Ended up stuck with Father for what must have been most of it. Sorry."