"Oh, I bet they do," Claude says cheerfully, even as he reaches for the other boot and begins to pull it on. "But these are the bad guys, right? Maybe their transgressions extend to fashion."

As he works the boot up his calf, he makes a thoughtful hum. "I wonder if Felix's boots are this tight? He's the only person I know who wears boots like this...I wonder if there's some trick to getting them on I don't know. This is slow."