Ivy looked at him with wide, earnest eyes, and had to bite the inside of her cheek hard to keep from smiling. There was nothing in any of her (admittedly shallow) pools of village learning that had said Jaegers would be sweet, or even charming, unless she had for a solid eighteen years now misunderstood the meanings inherent in the words 'horrible', 'hideous', 'monstrous' and so on. And yet she could not help but want to apologize for having offended her new friend. 

"Oh. Did I say 'fleeing'? I meant 'fighting fiercely with our backs to the enemy while also moving quickly away to confuse them into [i]thinking[/i] we were fleeing, but really, we were just very confident'. Or you were, anyway. And I -- "

Whatever she'd been about to add -- and even Ivy wasn't sure -- was lost in Jötz unexpected breakdown. For a moment, Ivy could only stare. In the last...well, how long had it been? It felt like ten minutes and ten years simultaneously, though, logically, Ivy had to guess it was more like a day, maybe a little less. Still, the idea that Jötz had saved her life at least thrice over was not exaggeration. Together, they had faced down an angry mob, the tail end of a homicidal firewood oven, a wild fire, a deadly swamp, and a horde of poisonous toads (though that last part, Ivy was certain, had been to their benefit. Jötz just didn't know that yet). And while they may have been doing a good deal of that backward-fighting-while-moving-away, Jötz hadn't really shown fear, or even very much distress. 

But then they'd fallen into a hole, and now he was near beside himself. Maybe he was claustrophobic? Or afraid of the dark? 

She felt almost bad for him as he curled up against the wall, stepping closer, wanting to help. He'd said something about a hat -- but surely this couldn't be over a dusty bowler? It hadn't even been all that [i]nice[/i] of a hat, though Ivy didn't think it wise to mention that last bit. 

Still. He'd saved her life. She was pretty sure she owed him, even if he was a Jaeger. After all, she was a Spark now. Outcasts and underdogs and all that. 

She put her back to the wall and slid down beside him before awkwardly putting out a hand to pat his knee, the way she'd seen mothers comfort their children. It had never really been the sort of thing she and Mama Petra would do -- Mama Petra had not patience for tears and petulance -- but it seemed the sort of thing one ought to try first. 

Now, what was she meant to say? 

"Um....oh! Here, here," she muttered quietly. "I'm sure...you're very good at...erm...killing people. You killed all those toads back there, and some of them were big as people! There was a lady back in Motorhum who looked just like that big one when she got angry with me -- uh...I mean, with the other village children for setting her goldfish on fire...or something like that. I don't know, I don't remember, I wasn't there," she added quickly, blushing. 

"Anyway, the point is, it was a very nice hat, and I'm sure we can find another very nice one for you. And then you can...kill...um...all the people you like. Alright? Cheer up."

There was a very long, awkward silence, during which Ivy contemplated trying to sing to Jötz, before deciding none of the songs she knew seemed appropriate for the situation, as most of them were about the dangers of trusting strange Jaegers, or leaving the village. 

Instead, Ivy reached a gore covered hand very carefully into her apron and pulled out a bloodied fist. 

"Do you want to see what I got from those toads?"