The downside to Signless expecting this kind of treatment from his best friend was that it did not at all have the intended effect. Instead of being cowed or properly apologetic for his momentary gigantic lapse in pale judgement, he just smiled fondly at those twin middle fingers.

"A hypothetical palemate might not, but you aren't hypothetical. Are you really asking me whether I'd want to talk about slavery when I spent most of my life talking about it to anyone who would listen? Just because the scars you carry are deeper and more extensive than most doesn't mean that you don't deserve help dealing with them. If anything it means you deserve it more."