Caleb watches him surreptitiously, making sure not to take his eyes of the path for too long, so he doesn't trip over anything. He takes in the protective feelings Daniel projects like brambles, the apologetic ones that brush against Caleb's arms like a gentle fog. There's a lot of conflicting emotions coming from him, but he's sincere when he agrees that Caleb isn't wrong.

"That doesn't mean you're not allowed to feel the way you feel," he reasons. "You kinda had a good experience, right? So, of course you're not gonna want to see the, like, less charitable sides of it. That's, like... my friend Michael. He's been super awesome to me, right, and he's letting me rent his old apartment, and he got me a job, and shit. But if I found out that he'd been really terrible to someone, I'd feel at least as conflicted as you do."