"A friend," Tanek said with an almost enigmatic smile. You could pick up a lot of things, living on the street, and while Tanek was no expert at wielding a knife, he had picked up a few moves from a mangy girl he met in Budapest. She had been a magician with her knife; he could only do a few tricks. Knives were handy because you could hide them in your boot or your pocket: he still had the switchblade they had stolen together, though he had stopped carrying it around. It was not as neccessary at the Academy. People did not try and steal your food or your shoes at night.
He tried to wipe the blood from his mouth, smearing it over his face, making the black-haired boy look more feral, despite his silly outfit. His dark eyes sized up Galad, before shaking his head. "Would be a shame to damage something so pretty."
Throwing knives was not something Tanek was any good at. Instead, quick as a spider, he jumped forward, almost in defiance of the chest-sucking injury he had just been given. Tanek healed quickly, the wound already scabbing over. He offered the knife to Galad, blade-first. "Still want to test my powers?"