"He's scared of making shadows," Runa explains in a whisper. Her eyes slide from Steve to Viatorus again. "Places for… for things to hide and crawl out from. He didn't like all the dark corners furniture makes. So we covered it all."

The sudden noise of Steve's raised voice makes Viatorus flinch again. His hands ball into fists and he closes his eyes, taking a deep breath before he relaxes again and wrings his hands instead. All Steve gets is the occasional glance while Viatorus talks and gestures.

"My… M-My work. My work. To get from here to there." His fingers point to his chest and then to the space in front of him. Then he waves at his head before waving vaguely at himself. "B-But not-not just this. N-Not just me, but… b-but all of me. Like… Like M-Mico-Mm-Micolash did. He didn't mean to." Worried eyes turn to face Steve properly then. "He didn't mean to." He turns away and scrubs his face with his hands. "But he did. He did what I-I want to do. He knows how, b-but he… I… I need to… to find the way myself too. My way. Th-The Durant way." A nervous laugh flutters through him and disappears as quickly as it comes. "W-W-Without a cage."