[he catches himself before he reaches to touch, drawing his hand back and putting it behind his back. but studying them, he can tell the difference. when? why? the questions bubble up in him, but Heine's observation catches him off guard.]

That's kind of on purpose. My family's more old fashioned, so when I started, the one way I could get them to not be too upset was to promise that anything I got or did, I could cover up.

[and since he's not going to start stripping in front of Heine - that's better reserved for his place of work - he pulls up his right pant leg, revealing the flaming feather that's on his ankle.]

I like yours, though. How long have you had them?

[he can guess, sure, but he'd rather ask.]