I know. I'm sorry. [And he is. He'd been a little too focused on the goal to really think that far ahead. Perhaps that's just part of the fact that he's still growing up. But he's fine with this and he leans into that hug even while he's thinking. (It should be little surprise to Rei by now that this is how he functions best. Casual affection paired with letting him puzzle things out.)

Still, he makes a face at that. He doesn't really want to pin the blame on anybody even if he'd sort of thought the whole thing backfired spectacularly. Was it anybody's fault? Or did Occidi already have her mind made up from the start?]

I don't know if it was entirely Athena's fault. She thought she was doing the right thing and overreacted when Occidi destroyed the offering that Merlin made. It happens. [...did Rei know about Athena and Merlin? He's not sure, so he's carefully sidestepping that. People do crazy things when they like people sometimes.]It was just a combination of Athena reacting to Occidi destroying the flowers, Edgeworth asking what our part in all of this was and accidentally offending Occidi and I probably asked her way too many questions, too. [A huff.] I'm gonna go back to her shrine in a couple of days...I've got a new offering I'd like to leave to apologize. Even if she doesn't want our help, it's the least I can do.