“Well,” he spoke up distractedly, focused by then on picking out a path of least resistance in the shrubbery, “now if you try to order him around, he can threaten a diplomatic incident with the south.” There were a few mishaps with the foliage closing in and the sensitive wingspan he had to concern himself with, but he had been coping with that for years and it was one more thing he would never be caught complaining about. There was a certain tension now and then that she might catch if she paid attention, if something brushed against one wrong or simply if he was required to shift them to a particular angle, but for the most part he did seem capable of such movements. They just came with a price now. Still, this little adventure had been his idea too, and he wasn’t going to fuss over it now.
Once they emerged onto a proper path, into what had once been like any other part of the garden and now was simply a bit overgrown, he stopped to consider her question. In the end, he turned toward her to give her his answer. “A bit of both. Anything that makes me think of her, just now, is not necessarily good, but… It is good to finally be doing something with you besides running through a list of what is happening or needs to happen. It is something not to have an agenda constraining us for once."