Basil considered it, then slowly nodded as he answered with as much certainty as he could muster, "If I hadn't moved past it, then I would have left you here." He turned back to the mouth of the alley, watching absently as people milled about on the nearby streets; a man tugged along a huffing Brahmin, a woman weeded her meager garden, a group of children ran down the old road, apparently playing tag. He finally added, "You can trust me, Jace, but I know that my word will never be enough for you again. You will just have to give me the chance to have my actions strengthen them, or we will have to ultimately go our separate ways." He then started to leave, throwing over his shoulder, "The choice is yours this time."