One of these sort of things again. She didn't want to choose sides, she just wanted a solution. The smile fades some into a neutral expression, carefully considering her words. How best to express it to someone who might have no idea?

Frankness and honesty it is. The woman seems direct enough. The worst Erin can do is laugh at her or something.

"...And I'd be fine to meet them too. Look, I don't have any quarrel if you'd like to stay here, and I don't doubt that there's enough who have their lives improved by getting elected, who deserve every chance to stay here. But my companions and I are trying to stop a cult from laying waste to the entire Coast with a giant brain. You can see how that would skew my reasoning."

And for the briefest flash of a second, she wishes the tadpole was alive, that she might try to reach out to them, to say I'm okay.

"I can't just accept that I can do nothing and leave it all for them to handle."