His brother's words stung Rylan much more than he had expected. The insinuation that he was useless most of the time was not lost on him. He knew exactly what it was that the elder man was implying, and he resented it.
But for once, he held his tongue. Hurt caused him to recede into himself. There would be no more witty remarks, no jokes, no teasing. All emotion faded from his expression as he simply stared blankly into the fire. He stirred the food cooking over the fire absent-mindedly. Meanwhile, he began tracing random shapes in the dirt below him with his free hand.
[16]