No; sometimes they're so straightforward it hurts. [Ah, but he waves his glass a little, like, semantics! He knows.] I don't disagree— those make the most compelling stories.

[Which he probably has opinions about, but then there's his particular goal, phrased so simply because of course Viktor doesn't know - it's an odd, almost underwater feeling, to think of his very first goal now, in casual conversation in this bar.

If he's making a face, he isn't paying attention to it.]

I had a friend in the Seventh, [which he has explained to Viktor, so he won't do it again, good god.] I wanted to help.

[There's a tangle of complications sitting just under the surface of even that much, and Palamedes has told only the half that ripped out his heart to someone who didn't already know all the players — he has far too much Blue Drink in him to want to get into that part now. This is a celebration, not a - whatever recounting his baggage counts as.

Pens. Those, instead. He can only imagine what kind of person would be a suitable assistant to both Viktor and Jayce, based solely on how Viktor has described him - she must be something else.]

I've never had a nemesis; I'd enjoy the challenge.