[Here Nehan is offering to listen and hear him out. He takes a breath and makes a decision. He faces him squarely.] The night you witnessed in my memory my trust was betrayed at every turn.

Father, who had been hiding a dark tool he was using until it left him in agony only death could fix. The knights I swore my oath to. Kaeya, with his secrets that are not mine to tell without permission. Even myself, the stupid fool who believed the world was what it said it was. The knights told me to my face that father’s fight with a drake and defeating it meant less than their reputation!

[A low growl builds in his throat, under scoring his words like a storm. Faint black scales form on his neck. This is a wound that goes deep. Beasthood would be so easy if this wound were pushed too far. He closes his eyes and breathes in slowly. Slowly, controlling the simmering rage that he has carried for years. Once he has control he keeps going,]

I cut myself off from all of them. And my ability to trust more than how well I can fight was snuffed out. I left the city and killed my way through the ranks of those who had made the tool of dark powers.

I’m learning to trust those closest to me again. I won’t say I did right by you or anyone else. But I promise to try to do better.