"We'll have this mess cleaned up before he's old enough to know the difference," Alistair says. Does he sound confident? Hopefully he sounds confident. What he feels is tired and disappointed and wearily determined, but maybe that sounds kind of like confidence.

And then he's quiet. Listening. Elves probably have better hearing in addition to better eyesight, but it can't hurt to try to contribute to the whole not-getting-caught thing.