"Mm. Yeah, I get that." The implication of Responsibilities is more than enough to put them on the same page- Mal has his own back home that he has only barely thought about since coming here.
He flexes his feet on the stone, splaying his toes and then wriggling them idly.
"It's a vacation, but one that goes on forever and you can't leave when you want, that makes it kinda 'gilded cage' territory. Plus, you know. The fucking, which not everyone is really into normally." He flashes a small smile, indicating that he, at least, doesn't mind it so much. As long as he can pretend no one's actually watching him. "But faeries aren't exactly known for doing things by anyone's rules but their own, I knew that even before I got here."
He's dealt with fairies before. That catches Eliot's attention, and has him thinking back to their first encounter in the fog. That flicker of shadow he'd seen in Mal's presence.
"And knowing is half the battle," he quips. "Even if, with fairies, a little knowledge can get you screwed over eight ways to Sunday."
He takes a sip of wine before going on.
"I had my own run-in with a different set of fairies, shortly before getting pulled in here. Someone made a deal to save my ass, and wound up giving away something she shouldn't have had the right to." His jaw clenches momentarily at the memory. He isn't furious with Margo anymore, but the whole situation... "It made it impossible to take this all at face value, for a while."
no subject
He flexes his feet on the stone, splaying his toes and then wriggling them idly.
"It's a vacation, but one that goes on forever and you can't leave when you want, that makes it kinda 'gilded cage' territory. Plus, you know. The fucking, which not everyone is really into normally." He flashes a small smile, indicating that he, at least, doesn't mind it so much. As long as he can pretend no one's actually watching him. "But faeries aren't exactly known for doing things by anyone's rules but their own, I knew that even before I got here."
no subject
"And knowing is half the battle," he quips. "Even if, with fairies, a little knowledge can get you screwed over eight ways to Sunday."
He takes a sip of wine before going on.
"I had my own run-in with a different set of fairies, shortly before getting pulled in here. Someone made a deal to save my ass, and wound up giving away something she shouldn't have had the right to." His jaw clenches momentarily at the memory. He isn't furious with Margo anymore, but the whole situation... "It made it impossible to take this all at face value, for a while."