"Oh, I would never dare compete with you on that front. No more than I would try to fight you with a sword." Jokes aside, Pal still doesn't quite know what to think about the relationship between Harrow and Gideon. He supports whatever makes them happy, of course, but he gets the feeling that happiness in the Ninth House takes a decidedly different form than it does elsewhere.

"How are...things, anyway? Aside from the threats to your spinal column."