"I am not drunk now," Mathias points out, feeling that this is necessary. He'd been drunk the first time he'd left the Compound, but only because of the party going on and it's strange, but he finds himself wanting to make a good impression on Veronica.

"There are worse places to think of as home, I expect," he adds softly, looking up at the trees again. "It seems not so bad here. Quiet for the most part."