"Do you want to know something?"

"Yeah?"

"This is paint."

"'Course it is."

"It's not real."

"Not real..." Fives turned to face his brother with a mix of confusion and concern- for his brother's sanity, of course. "What are you on about, Echo?"

"It should be blood. Eel blood. Now it's not."

Echo was smart. Very smart. Book smart, at least, and he always seemed to catch you when you weren't following regulations. Fives had nearly hours of discussion regarding the manuals and the missions, their armor, and the best way to properly peel away a pinup without tearing it. He'd had strange conversations with his brother in the past, but this felt like the beginning of the strangest.

"It washed away, Echo. What did you expect?"

"I know that," Echo muttered. "But it feels less real, painted." His lips pulled into a thin line as he looked down at his armor and gently touched the handprint there. "Eel blood is more authentic, you know?"

Fives stared at his brother blankly as his brain halted entirely. "Echo, what in the universe-"

"It helped me remember," Echo murmured, his hand dropping to his side. "It was from Rishi. In a way, I took them with me, because they were on Rishi, and I was on Rishi, and it's much lighter than carrying 'round rocks..."

Fives' brows rose nearly to his hairline, but he understood what Echo was getting at. Kind of. "You took something with you that reminded you of them. You should've said that earlier."

"I did."

"I thought you were trying to remember the eels. I'm sure they appreciate it."

Echo glared.

Fives laughed. "Well, think of it this way: the Captain slapped you on Rishi-"

"He didn't slap me."

"-and we replicated it when we were reassigned. Don't think of eel blood- think of handprints. You got a handprint on Rishi, not eel blood. Get it?"

Echo was thoughtfully silent for a good long moment. He ran a hand through his hair and Fives saw the barest hint of a smile on his brother's face. "I get it. Handprints, then. I'll remember them with handprints."

"Good. 'Sides," Fives said, speeding up down the hall ahead of Echo. "I doubt the boys would want to be remembered through eel blood. That's disgusting."