[ Oh ... he likes that smile. It makes him sad, the way being around Liem always makes him feel a little bit sad. But something about it pleases him--maybe because he can see he's thrown Liem off, and that makes him trust this smile more than the last one he tried.

Matt takes up a seat near Liem. Not too near. On Liem's left, within polite reaching distance. He wouldn't normally think about proximity through any other lens than the vibrations between bodies--where's the warmest place to be that makes them both comfortable--but now, his nearness is an artifact of having to think twice about how much levitation magic he tries.

He reaches for the flask and takes another long drink before answering. ]

My body thinks I still have it. The hand. [ He lifts his stump, reflexively trying to wiggle his fingers before he realizes oh, right. One more quick sip. ] So my brain sends signals to figure out what's wrong, and it ... hurts.

[ Matt passes the flask over. ]

So yeah. It helps.