[ His jaw ticks with irritation but his stance relaxes, shoulders dropping slightly. He can't help the defensiveness, when he's had to defend what he is and what he does every day of his life since hitting puberty. It's not that he enjoys it, but it's habit, now, ingrained just as much as wanting to protect his kind is. ]

I can't think of it as vacation, not like that. People still count on me. Sure, here, I don't have to spend every waking moment ready to run - [ - even if he is - ] - or constantly fighting, for my rights and my life and the lives of my loved ones. And that, I definitely needed. But I'm still looking for a way to allow all of my people to get that break, too.

[ He's still pretty tense, wishing Marcos was here, too. That Lorna was here, even. ]

Maybe once everyone is safe, I'll take a vacation.