Skellig is quiet for a moment (one that will feel to Kreyu as if it is just a hint longer than what he would normally take to respond to her) before he speaks.

And he does not bother to hide the deep sense of hurt that tints his voice, the evidence of the wound that has ached for so very long in his soul.

"For so long I have been cast out, spit upon, cursed at. Not all have done so, but so very many have simply worked to avoid me, it just...after awhile, I simply...believed their reactions as truth, as what I deserved. And it became easier to pass unnoticed, avoid their scorn."

He pauses.

"I was not at all proud of myself as I am, before I met you. That is what has changed."