Aidan, in turn, had the grace to look a little embarrassed. It was written in the soft laugh, that brief, downward turn of his gaze, and the way one hand lifted, absentmindedly, to scratch the back of his head.

"Yeah. Well." A pause. "What is the point of enjoying life if one forces one's self to have so many rules?"

So many others had told him this, with Riley being the first, and the likes of Setsuna, Hikaru, Alistair, Maes and Calintz later on. Now he was finally taking their advice.