He watches her, tempted to reach out across the mental link and see if she'll share what her thought process is, but he doesn't. He didn't put so much effort into making his shields what they are now to go trying to pull at other people's minds, no matter how much he wants to know what she's thinking.

But he lets his curiosity bleed out, his desire to know more.

And then it's his turn to consider quietly - but it doesn't take him very long to reply to that. He may have questioned his beliefs in the middle, but he'd known what they were very strongly when he was younger.

"Equality. Fighting to protect people I loved, a place I loved. I believed in change, that what I was doing could make things better."

He still believes that. Still believes in all of that, really, it was only his disillusionment with the people who held authority over him. There's a pause, and his offer comes out thoughtful.

"I could show you."