He smiled slightly at her reassurance, and he nodded. "I'm glad," Gareth said simply, and stood from his squat. His eyes fell on her and it was clear, much as it was obvious that something was different about him, something had shifted in how he looked at her. If at first Gareth's eyes had held mistrust then curiosity, and later a certain trust when he faced Winter's yellow orbs... now there was something mixed in them, something complex that couldn't be boiled down to a single emotion. It was a more mature expression he wore, and in fact it seemed as if his troubles--whatever they had been--had aged him a great deal.

"Insufferable is right," he agreed with a small smirk. "Good to have someone like him to face, don't you think? No moral qualms about whether he's in the right or the wrong here. At least I don't have any."
"Does anyone in the group...?" he asked curiously, the magician's eyebrows raised in an expression of interest. "I wonder where Damiano's allegiance would have fallen."

He turned aside for just a moment when she graced him with those words, his face hidden for only a second or two before he faced her with a look of obvious gratitude. If he'd had time to moderate or change his expression from the initial surprise of her honest, meaningful confession, no trace of the look it had once been remained on his face. All that was left was camaraderie and an appreciation for her kindness.
"Agreed," he said, the words a little harder to come by for him than they had been for her, but at least he was able to say them. That too had changed, if only a little.
"I was worried about all of you, with all of this going on. You especially."

"It does," he agreed, smiling sadly at the joke she'd made. "The past few days have felt like the longest of my life." He considered the memories for a moment, looking down at the loosely-cobbled ground, then shook his head and raised his gaze again.

"Might I... see that white branch again?" Gareth asked.