[ Given an infinite amount of time - heck even 20 minutes - Tim would like to think he’d come up with worthy of the moment, but he’s going for functionality in a time crunch.

So Branch is met with a butterfly net that Tim can barely slam down to the ground. He pulls a dangling string, and a bag of sandbox sand stacked neatly in the corner dumps its content onto the handle of the net.

(Tim, it should be noted, is standing between Branch and the sand. He’s not putting Branch at greater risk. ) ]

Hold on - this is about the kid? Did anyone make him fight after we were here - the fight with the Jersey devil and the theater wasn’t on anyone’s orders.

[ Tim takes Branch’s accusation absolutely seriously, giving it more legitimacy than anything else so far, but he wants to make sure they’re on the same page. ]

They gave us all three options: stay here at the Pole, no strings attached, take the track proof charm and leave, or help them fight. Meaning staying and fighting are independent choices.

[ The look he shoots Miguel, well, probably only Branch can see the how sharp it is, like he’s daring him to confirm otherwise.

(He wishes he could doubt the accusation of lies and hypocrisy, but. Yeah, no, he doesn’t. Pooh poohing first impressions gets people hurt. ]

So the kid doesn’t have to fight, right?