His eyes clenched shut so tightly it hurt, able to see the spinning zig-zag patterns that he knew his brain made up to fill in the space, fingers of his free hand kneading at his temple as if that might help coax something back to the surface, or at least let it linger there even as his other hand curled tight against Frankie's in turn.

Trying to remember hurt, it hurt in a way he didn't think he'd ever hurt before, like some part of him was tearing, and not just tearing, but peeling apart in layers, "The words would get all tangled together." It was a barely-there rush, his breathing starting to shallow, either not noticing or not caring about the one fat droplet of blood gathering at his nose, "But if I could find the right one." A little shake of his head, a twitch more than anything, continuing through gritted teeth, "Find the right one, I could... could just, spin them, like... like yarn, like magic, like..." A rough, pained little noise in the back of his throat and another shake of his head, "I can't. I don't know."