Signless obliges, his sharper troll toenails better-equipped to hook into the shoe than Roland's stubby human ones. It takes him a few kicks but eventually the shoe thumps to the floor and he makes a small, pleased noise of victory.

"I'll answer any questions you have after you've slept," he says, pressing an abbreviated kiss to Roland's jaw. Carefully he tries to tip them both sideways -- easier to sleep lying down properly, after all. "I can tell it as many times as you like, I know it well enough."