Anye knew he was kidding, but considering she'd practically had to drag him out tonight, it still made her feel a little sad. He was with her now, and smiling, and she told herself that was all that mattered. Most days that was all it took to make her happy, but her newfound knowledge of the Den was ever present in the back of her mind, as heavy as a weight she carried on her shoulders.
"It's after midnight," she told him. "Which means it's not your birthday any more. Which means I can go back to bossing you around," she went on. "So no, you're not getting out of this one. But if you keep grumbling about it, I might get offended." Anye smiled, but she couldn't stop the wheels in her brain from turning. She briefly picked up the pace as they crossed at an intersection bringing them another block closer to the pier and her house, and as she evened her pace out again she couldn't help but speak. "You didn't want to come out tonight," she said, and she truly didn't mean to say it, but there it was. "But you didn't want to go home and see your sisters, either. You're not on a mission. So where did you want to be tonight?"