"Thank you." Used to affection as he is, overused by Akechi standards, he draws away in turn to allow both of them space. They walked through the fire and came out the other side, and he offers the tiniest genuine smile. More than anything, Falcon is himself; Magpie values him for what he is, rather than the strange accuracy of his reflection.

"I suppose we owe Crow," he adds, rather more acerbically. "If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't have known where to begin. Probably I'd have killed you," he adds, almost cheerily.