"You know what?" snapped Noah. He stood, turned and his hand snapped out to curl up in the collar of Diego's shirt, thumb pressing down on his collar bone in a warning prelude. He wanted to see a flinch, feel the result of his own strength overwhelming the man before him. Even if Noah had height on Silva, his presence was outmatched by far. No one who might catch sight of the scene would be overly worried with it looking like a gangly teenager trying to threaten the unflappable Itzal Malik. It was a good sign Noah hadn't literally gone for the throat right from the start.

He paused then, unsure of where to go now that he was truly processing what Diego had said. He was just so unaccustomed to any of this and it left a sour pit in the middle of his stomach to confront it whenever things fell out of alignment. Which was pretty often, really. He shifted his grip instead, raising his fist enough that it might give Diego a bit of trouble to stay flat on his feet. Let him chew on that.