Raylan couldn't help but huff a breath of amusement at the way she said that and he offered her a little roll of his shoulder.

"I'd rather be against somethin' I've got a chance in than backed up against the fogbearin' forest." But the faint cast of humor didn't stand up long to the demand of specifics. "It's dangerous, Athena. We've already had a third of our number die from gettin' caught outside in the Fog, though some of them came back. We just lost another third to some.... fucked up invisible monster. People inside were spared."

And she needed to be spared - Athena was spunky and full of the fire of youth. He didn't want to see what would happen to that fire with all the trauma this place could inflict upon her. Better that broader shoulders bore it.