"I enjoy many of your orders," he says teasingly, reaching down to give Nate's ass a pat. His voice gets serious again as he continues, though. "It's just Teren who doesn't follow them, right? You and her were equals when you... didn't quite ask her to step down. She's probably still upset by that. Leave her be as much as possible. No one enjoys consequences to their actions, and the entire mission was a mess for her. She's likely going to hold a grudge for a while yet, and fighting her on that will only give satisfaction to her, not to you."

He takes a breath. "Don't fight the battles you don't have to. This is one to let go." He's aware of his hypocrisy. Anders has rarely seen a battle he didn't take on, but Nate's different.