[quote=@Thanqol]

"You look like I kicked your stupid beetle," observed Ailee. There's no followup. No comforting words, no condolences. She just drops you unceremoniously on the deck, ended her conflagration of arcane energies, and immediately started doing cooldown stretches and breathing exercises. Urgh! People are [i]heavy![/i]
[/quote]

Here is the thing about good shoes, proper dress shoes. Your feet will blister for the first few days you wear them. They are merciless. But it's like raising a puppy into a loyal dog. Your bond with them forms during the teething period. Nothing else quite like them after that. Twice a week, a proper polishing. You labour and fuss over them, because you can tell a lot about a person by their shoes. You look after your shoes, and they'll look after you. You can't invest so much into something without having some pretty powerful emotional attachments to them. 

Here's the thing about Lucien's shoes; They were probably the last pair of good, proper dress shoes he'll own in his life.

He is [i]very mopey[/i] right now. He is [i]pouting[/i]. There is an ache in his very sole.