"And I'm not going without one because of your hangups," he fires back at Nell, overlapping Melys' argument with Kostos and every bit as automatic. The sentiment is hardly unreasonable to expect from a mage, and he ought to have figured it out when he realized she was (quite literally) in bed with Kostos, but he'd been taking her veneer of tolerance at face value until now, and its sudden drop catches him just a bit off guard.

Melys' suggestion silences him, makes him look appraisingly over at her as he gives it visible, serious consideration. As far as he's concerned, her pride in the idea is not entirely unwarranted--if only because he's drawing a total blank for alternatives.

"...I don't see why we couldn't."