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"I get it," Dinadan says quietly. "Wishing you'd stayed that way because what happened was awful, I mean. I did the crazy shut-in thing for months before I finally started seeing someone to help me deal. I just..." he shrugs. "I just eventually chose to see it that, since I got to come back, I should go back to doing good things with my life. Not to make up for what happened, because I can't undo it with good deeds, but just to..." The corner of his mouth quirks up in a smile. "I guess to redeem my name.

"But the New Morlaidh thing, it's really not about you," he continues. "I promise, I swear on my EZ Bake Oven, I wouldn't have come to you this summer to get you to convince me not to drop out of high school if it was about you."

He takes a deep breath. He's never actually said this to one of his friends before, he's always just smiled and nodded and let it go when they all talked about how they were going to kick so much butt when they finally threw off the label of "the kids" and started working as adult heroes.

"Jai, I was never going to do what-- what Cait's dad does. I was never going to try and divide my time between the throne and the League. I'd be available for emergencies, and I'd come up to visit you guys socially; I'd literally only be a phone call away, but..."

He runs his hand through his hair again, making it stand up like the feathers of a flustered bird, and slumps back against the wall.

"I'm not a cape hero," he says, more to his own lap than to the other young man sitting next to him. "I'm a warrior prince who knows how to play by cape hero rules."