no subject

[He eyes the cane— he remembers thinking it wasn't much of an alternative, trying not to be— but the question gets under his ribs.]

No.

[It's a kneejerk reaction: defensive and, yes, a transparent lie. He flushes with embarrassment as soon as it's out of his mouth.]

I'm not— They're not people. [He can't think of them like that, or he'll really lose his mind.] They're just... pictures.

[In a tall crystal on the other side of the room, his brother grins at him, lopsided and smug, and Carver resorts to glaring down at his feet.]