Athelstan finds it hard to hide his face once Ragnar is crouching down. he doesn't try and stop him from touching him this time, though the temptation had sprung up, one that he didn't really understand because he also just wanted to curl himself into Ragnar's arms and forget everything else. He swallows heavily, his hands clasped together in his lap then, not fidgeting with his bracelet, or the crucifix or keeping busy with the sketching.

"It sounded like it..." Athelstan started but Dodger had never said those words specifically. So much of what had been said seems nebulous now at best but he knows how the words had made him feel. It's not much help. But the words are harder to perceive that way when faced with Ragnar's voice and presence.

Athelstan inhaled sharply at the question. "Not at first," he says, frowning. "I never said stop. I told him to get off but he said no, that I already had my chance to leave. And I... it's my fault," Dodger had said it clearly enough, that if he stayed that whatever happened it's on Athelstan. He should have left. Why didn't he leave? "I didn't leave."