His breath quickens, chest aching in a way it never has before. Til now, it's always been his secret hope that those he cares for would simply forget him, once he was gone. It was an easy story to spin so long as he had the good sense not to discuss it with anyone; perhaps it may even still be true of Maria and Daniil, with their many and glorious plans. But now he has torn the veil from his eyes and asked Fever to speak him plainly, and he can always count on her to be honest. For her, forgetting him would be all of a piece with her grief.

"I could..." he begins to speak slowly. "Of it would help, I could...I could leave you a self-portrait. If that's something you'd want."