[ At last, Trahearne straightens herself and meets her understanding smile with a sheepish one of her own. He always seems to find himself at a loss of words when faced with the man's visage without prior warning. And he can see how she might have taken it as embarrassment. ]

I'm not as much embarrassed as I am surprised. The photograph you took of me turned out to be much more than that.

[ He gingerly takes the photo between his fingers, gaze lingering on the image before looking up at her.

With certainty he can say that Beatrix is a friend. An ally he trusts--they fought dragons together, after all. They fought Eustace. And little does she know, but it was her actions that prevented him from being dragged down into the icy depths. He most certainly would have given in without her. All to say that he is not embarrassed sharing things about himself he thinks might...illuminate some things regarding his circumstances. ]

This is dear friend of mine, and his companionship meant a lot to me. I doubt I am ever going to see him again, so this is precious to me. [ He glances down at the picture, and chuckles a bit. ] I hope the inventor lets me keep this.