Loki will never stop believing there's something hidden beneath Blaze's recklessness. Maybe she's off the mark there, missing what's hidden within what. But she's said her piece now, and the way the mood has gotten strangely subdued tells her something has been heard.

And what of Loki herself? "I don't know," she says. "I think I began lying when I realized telling the truth didn't actually alter anything. One can talk and talk until one runs out of air, and time, but teaching and advice depend on the listener. Without someone who cares to hear, words uttered by a silver tongue are empty noises and no more."

"I make sure my truths are especially pretty," she adds. "So that they have that much going for them at least, should they be ignored."

And then she smiles. "Lies, on the other hand, have lives of their own. People cannot help but imbue them with their own needs. A good person needs to prove them wrong, or to find the truth they conceal. A wicked person may seek to further them for his own ends. The truth whispers; lies sing."

"But it is always better to say something, true or false, than to be made silent."