"Thank you," comes first.

And the question is stalled, set aside as Ellis comes down to his haunches to whistle softly for Whiskey's attention.

There is a moment where Ellis considers the whole truth of the task he's taken on. And then he considers Bastien, and pares down the enormity of it to something far less weighted.

"I've an errand to the north," is not untrue, just lacking a fuller picture. "I've always able to travel unnoticed, but these are unsettled times."