"It's..." Ava swallows down the nervous objection. There's far too many people in town, but the Oak & Iron especially. Strangers but also those she's certain hate her for her associations and actions. An anxious sense of obligation that comes with accepting the boarding, the first step to assimilating to a place she doesn't fully trust. She hadn't wanted anyone to know her whereabouts so easily, even if the only thing chasing her is her own spiraling guilt.

But none of those worried excuses feel all that valid anymore. Each of them solved simply by his presence. She doesn't need to escape here, because he's here. He's here. "Okay," Ava agrees softly, stroking feathers of his wings to soothe them both.

"But we're not waking up at 5am." New year resolutions be damned.