The Sunspire All these lost halos wash away

The boy's grimace lifted for a moment.

He understood but disliked that he needed to be taught this. He disliked losing, and above all, he was confused by the lackluster response from the older man. In place of physical abuse there was only conversation and Glaukos attributed these unmet expectations to the unspoken fact that Glaukos was, somehow, stronger and better than the grizzled veteran. That was what he committed to memory here; that was his lesson, wrongly interpreted as it may be.

As such, the elder's look was met with irreverence.

I'll get you next time.

Glaukos coughs the words, and pulls away. He won't give the man the satisfaction of teaching him anything and equally so, reserved a sense of superiority for himself, whisking his tail at his hocks as if he's somehow victorious after-the-fact, despite the results.