Alexi found himself relaxing as Katherine spoke, something about having voices hovering upon the air adding a feeling of safety to the woods they entered. More than her statement that she did, in fact, know the area, the simple act of [i]talking[/i] helped ease the knots of fear tightening in his stomach. It made him want to talk in return, to keep the conversation going and keep his attention away from the dark boughs and shadowy trunks that surrounded them.

Which wasn't completely a good thing... because he didn't like the subject this conversation was getting close to.

"Once, a... Seven years?" He took a moment to ponder that, blinking in surprise. "It was that long, wasn't it?"

Maybe it shouldn't have been much of a surprise, it wasn't like he had gotten a reputation as a skilled scribe overnight. His plans to leave had been over a year in the making as well, and had only begun when he was finally starting to get a little stir crazy within the city.

"I came up from the coast on... invitation from Charles? Yes, that was it. I... might have forgotten a map at the time, and ended up rather terribly lost before somehow ending up close enough to Avantshire to run into some hunters from the town."

Not the most heartening story to tell at the start of a journey, though embarrassment was a minor improvement over fear. He even had maps this time. Unless... wait... No! No they were right there behind his saddle, safely tucked in the largest pack. Good, good...

"I didn't stay for long, but apparently long enough to make an impression on some of the townsfolk." He thought on that for a moment, recalling how those who had come to the city has seemed to recognize him. It was a bit of a surprise they had such a high opinion of him, honestly. Seven years had done much to temper Alexi's former lifestyle, and a young man used to wealth but living in fear was not often one to be polite when necessary. But it seemed he could impress even himself when it mattered. "I guess I had enough sense at the time to be thankful for their help. Or maybe they found the sight of mud-stained clothes amusing?"

His voice died out then, finding little more to really say on the matter. There was always the option of launching into a full biography to pass the time, but Katherine hadn't done anything worthy of torture, so he should probably refrain. Not to mention that talk of running, hiding, and getting lost might not grant him the same courage their talk had so far.

So for now, at least, Alexi found himself calm enough to look around, eyeing the towering trees that reached out to catch the sun before it could grace his skin. They wouldn't work well as landmarks in case he needed them later -far too alike to one another- but at least mentally berating the trees for being so selfish helped keep his mood light for now. It'd been a while since he swore at anything -verbally or mentally- so the practice was... actually refreshing.

Who knew?