"The Spoke? I'm in." He quickly urges the tiny horse into a stall, where he's already got food and water at his level. Then he's closing the stall door and hastily catching up to Ben, bumping shoulders with the guy once he's done as much.

"I thought you'd never ask." Ben hadn't. Ben will likely say he wasn't asking. But with the arrival of another taciturn person Detlef's determination to finish his years-long quest of becoming friends with Ben has taken greater importance. He can't not be friends with Ben and Fiadh. That's just not right.