Victoria gave a slow, almost frustrated sigh. “Yeah. Your friend told me about some of that. And your, uh, reformation. I [i]know[/i] I haven’t even stepped foot in your world. I’ve tried to [i]avoid[/i] it my entire life. Which was part of the point I was trying to make. That isn’t something that just magically goes away in a couple hours because you find out someone you--” She exhaled through her nose, not wanting to admit the thought aloud. “Someone you care about is a part of the world you’ve feared and stayed away from for almost fourteen years. You’re different. If you weren’t, I doubt I’d even be here to have this conversation. But every single instinct is yelling at me to run out the door. Change takes time.” She enunciated each of the last words carefully. “I would think you’d know that.” She glanced up to him from beneath the thin veil of her hair. She held her breath against the truth of what he was, her heart beating quicker at the visual reminder.