It's...a strange explanation. One that leaves him unsure what to think because in so many ways isn't that what he's always wanted? He's always known it, felt it deep at the centre of him, he doesn't belong in that other place, he's not like the others and he doesn't want to fight and surely he ought to be somewhere else, somewhere gentler. Softer. She seems to be promising that-- he wants to believe it and it hurts.

For a moment he remains like a frightened deer poised on the edge of flight, but then he takes a breath, tries to steady himself. He doesn't want to be alone. Perhaps that frightens him more than anything else, makes it worth the risk.

He takes a small step forward.

"Was it H-Heine? With the c-collar?"