That vision was given to us, was it not? I make it a habit not to trust things I have not or cannot verify, especially when others put them forth. You wouldn't enter into a business agreement with only dreams to go on and here the fate of worlds is at stake.

[ he recalls with particular clarity the insistent feeling that he should believe everything. to accept and trust what he was being told. it's more than a little unsettling when so much seems out of everyone's control.

the snow leopard keeps watching right back, and asriel is well aware of how she seems to be a cause of added wariness. sometimes he's willing to let people squirm, but since he's butt in here in the first place, he decides to be generous this time. ]

You have nothing to fear from Stelmaria. She and I are one and the same, and you and I are merely having a discussion.

[ nothing worth fighting over, that is. ]