On its own, the bluntness of the question might have been enough to raise his hackles, sending him into the cold Arlington affect that Alex always rolls her eyes at when he tries it with her, but Palamedes asks with the kind of well-worn sarcasm Darlington recognizes instantly. "Depends on the society," he says, equally wry as he huffs out a laugh. "Aurelian's generally inoffensive as it is, although the last rite of theirs I was present for got...complicated when one of the wards broke. But you try and tell the assholes from Skull and Bones anything that sounds even remotely like a consequence and it's don't you know who my dad is in stereo."

He lifts an eyebrow, looking across the table at Palamedes. "My girlfriend would say that's their response to everything because they're all rich kids who've never been told no in their lives, and I don't think she's wrong." Alex would also say it more colorfully than that, but the general principle still held.