“Magic, I'm assuming,” she says, dryly, but not more than that before they're further away from anyone else's immediate earshot. At which point: “It's in my capacity as Captain of the Watch that I'd like to say to you, I'm aware you're out of quarantine but if you don't know what you just did, then I don't think you should be leaving the Gallows until you can control it.”

She taps the side of Ness's temple—

they've spoken plenty, til now. The voice had been immediately recognisable, and the quality of it very specific. That was not natural. The honest bafflement of her, at least, speaks for itself: not malicious, and not planned.

Good. But that's a different problem, immediately.

“I can find ways to keep you busy here, discreetly, if that's needful. But you need to be mindful of what your mind is doing and I think you have been playing catch up enough here to know why.”

If she hasn't, now's a good time to ask.