Flint nods slowly, a vaguely amused smile touching his lips at the mention of this "delightful freak show". The inclusion is not lost on him.

"Well, it is a bear, so I'd say his chances are fairly high. But I don't write myself off altogether. I've seen worse odds."

His smile dies a little at Joscelin's last question. The memory of his forced exile is still quite vivid and there's an underlying bitterness when he answers: "It's been a very, very long time." A brief pause. "A couple hundred of years, actually." Another pause while he contemplates a way to shift the topic away from him. "Were you familiar with that London?" The one he left behind, he means.