King Elk Forest -- when the ones that damn the innocent are on the nightly news

he thinks maybe she will be mad at him now, for making such a bold assumption, for overstepping his place in their life, but instead she steps closer, tells him no. "oh," he says dumbly. where relief should flood in guilt does instead - somehow, it's even worse, especially when she begins to explain. it's obviously not the full story (the collector that he is, eventually he may push for it, but for now he lets sleeping dogs lie) but it's enough. she'd been doing what he was doing, except not even, because he hadn't been trying to recruit anyone. he'd been hiding.

"brienne," delight says miserably, "we should've..." he trails off - should've what? looked for her? on the heels of trajan and uka's disappearances, they'd just assumed... well, they'd assumed the worst of her. the androgyne shakes his head, dislodging the slowly melting snow that'd collected on his crown. "i'm sorry," delight says, again, "for - assuming that you left by choice. what did mato say...?" his question is hesitant, unsure if he wants to know (or if she's willing to divulge), but... how had the silvery prince taken her return? and what does it mean for him (likely, nothing?)