Would he prefer to speak outside the Gallows? Whether or not he would prefer to speak at all is besides the point. Richard is here. Ellis is already bending to lift Thot, folding himself down to encourage her up into his arms.

"Seems a long way to go," he observes, straightening with his feline cargo.

And what is the use of inflicting his company on Richard through the ferry trip, the passage from dock to preferable Kirkwall location?

Even with exhaustion and pain marring the memory, Ellis knows he might have left well enough alone then. And that he'd made a mistake in assuming Richard would leave it all there, to dissipate at the dawn. He tucks Thot into the crook of an arm, gaze lifting from her to Richard's face.

"But it doesn't matter to me," he says evenly. "Either way, we might find somewhere to sit."