Benevenuta would not call herself pessimistic, so she must call Malcolm a realist; he says nothing she hasn't thought before, conscious of what she does, who she speaks to and how, what it might mean and how it might reflect upon mages, generally. If she doesn't always like that, well -

No one forced her into her council seat.

"For now," she agrees, with a brief shake of her head. "But I don't satisfy myself with only hoping it will hold."