Matrim Cauthon fingered the black scarf about his neck unconsciously. Blood and bloody ashes. He thought. Why are women so confusing? Tuon had been teasing him all night, in an almost friendly manner.

"Mat?" He whirled around, a dagger appearing in each hand. Tuon smiled slightly at him. "Those won't be necessary."

"Since when do you call me Mat?" He managed to choke out. She smiled mysteriously.

"Since I decided that you were no longer Toy."

"What the…?"

She glared at him.

"What made you make that decision?"

"When I saw something underneath that scarf."

He grabbed her arms. "What?" When she didn't answer, he made to shake her. "Mother's milk in a cup, Tuon, what did you see?"

"Release me." When he made no move to do so, she told him with a sigh, "I don't know what I saw; it looked like part of an old scar."

"Alright." He said quietly, letting her go. "But maybe you should see it…" Mat made one of his snap decisions and yanked the scarf off.

Tuon gasped. "Where did you get it?" She finally asked.

Mat laughed harshly; of a thousand questions he had thought she would ask, he had overlooked the most obvious one. Maybe his luck had finally run out. At least the bloody dice weren't going. "You wouldn't believe me, Tuon. You think too many things are children's tales."

"And you truly believe in them?"

"I've seen too much not too, Precious. Some of these so-called children's tales are walking nightmares." He raised his hands defensively. "I didn't believe in most of them, either, when I left the Two Rivers, but things have changed."

"Tell me, Mat, when did things change the most, hmm?" Tuon folded her arms and looked steadily at him. He gulped.

"Shadar Logath." He mumbled. "Hated, evil place. Stupid dagger. Never should've taken it."

She had no idea what he was talking about, so decided to change the subject."Do you remember Hawkwing's face?"

He looked at her. "We've been over this before. Why would I remember the face of a man who's been dead for centuries?" He couldn't lie again, for some odd reason, so he evaded the question. How completely and utterly impractical. Why, in the name of the Wheel, can't I lie, and why does she have to keep asking?

"You answered too slowly last time, Toy, and are obviously avoiding answering now. You are acting like a child."

At a loss for an answer, he glared at her, then stormed away, leaving an astounded and irate Tuon behind to try to figure out what he was hiding.