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

her deadpanned congratulations does not surprise him - or even sting, really, because it's what he deserves. it was accidental and inadvertent but in a way wasn't he rewarded for her disappearance? it's what it feels like, anyway, and he's sure it's what brienne is thinking too. 

maybe a better person would step down and re-evaluate. maybe a better person would think back to that fragile moment where he crossed a boundary with mato he didn't think he ever would and try to pull back before they all get hurt. but delight is selfish and he'd prefer to wear the guilt and do the wrong thing under the guise of helplessness.

brienne's lack of enthusiasm -- doesn't exactly deter him, although it does make him feel slightly worse than he already does. but the story he wove - and the way mato talks -- well, talked -- about the cream-furred woman depends on her testimony. he lost the chance for trajan and uka, but they'd not contributed much anyway besides being present at their founding. brienne, though? she'd been there from the start, by the prince's side. she was not a replaceable part of the tale. fidgety, he shrugs to match her. "i'd rather have an honest story, even if it's not all happy," the nénar says, thinking of malice's strange tribulations, of the injustices burke suffered at the hands of the caldera. 

"of course," he tells her, a single wag of his tail accompanying the statement. "um, same for you? seek me out whenever. i missed you," he adds, a little insistently, because even if he can't - even if mato - well, she was his first friend and that counts for something. the androgyne sucks in a breath and watches her, unsure what to do, unsure whether to leave her be or wait to be dismissed.