Even Constans, with all of his customary lack of tact, knew better than to pester the girl about her tense-switch. He tugged uncomfortably at the skirt-part of his robes to try to make them stretch further over his dangling calves, looking thoughtful despite his squirming.
"I've got three brothers too," he smiled wistfully at Lee. "Except Desi's the only one younger. I look after him, mostly," he added as a point of pride, however much truth there might be in it. "Teach him stuff that Mom taught me. Somebody's got to, and that's what big brothers are for."
He blinked and added quickly, horrified he would be so remiss, "It's not that our older brothers wouldn't do it, they taught me all sorts of things, but they're just not around so much since the war."
Puffing with pride, he clarified, "Luka and Mat are a lot older than us. Mat's a knight now, and Luka's the Bann, since- what happened to Mom."