This time, it was Rick who looked away first, moving under the pretense of keeping a better watch on their uninvited guest. He belatedly arranged his features into something closer to neutral, hopefully before Ellis picked up on anything - But then, he didn't strike Rick as the sort of observant that would have understood the meaning of the glance; there'd be plenty of time later to explain himself, and maybe, ask a few of the questions that had been stirred by his poorly-timed revelation.

Generally, Rick was the sort to make up his own mind when it came to people, reserving judgement until he could meet an individual himself, talk to them - But Daryl's opinion held a lot of weight. There was a reason why he'd trusted him with every person he'd brought back through the prison gates, back to their home and their family. It was the same reason he'd trusted him now, valued his input on those they'd met within the confines of the arena and beyond that. The nature of the game had everyone on edge, and the fact that Nick hadn't struck when the opportunity arose meant a lot; Rick wasn't about to send him an invitation to their camp, but he wouldn't have shot on sight either.

"I get that."

Though, Ellis' reaction left him to wonder just what he'd seen in his friend that Daryl hadn't. He'd been quick to apologize, where neither of them had shown any sign of open hostility towards his companion; that was the first red flag. Fighting for survival was to be expected, but what else had Nick been doing that justified that sort of kneejerk response?

Rick's eyes lingered on Ellis' face for an uncomfortably long moment, as though he were trying to read the truth from his expression alone.

"So what sort of 'misbehaving' has he been getting up to? Anything we ought to know about?"