[ Bastien doesn’t look up from the needle he’s threading, head tilted to encourage the scratching. ]

You let me.

[ With mirrored awe. With gratitude. The situation is different—incredibly different—and he doesn’t think anyone is to blame, but the fact remains that he could never have done what Alexandrie did, in the face of so much resistance. ]

If you had pushed me away, I wouldn’t have pushed back. [ He uses the needle tip to pick loose thread from where the button was before. ] In the beginning. Not now. Now you are trapped forever.

[ Perhaps more aspirational than true. But it would at least require more pushing than Byerly is ever likely to do unless he truly means it. ]