“Alex snorted as he packed the wound with sticky rice.

"Is that stuff sterile?" Ted asked, staring at Alex.

"They boil it, don't they?" Alex said, not looking up from what he was doing.

Ted's frown deepened. "That doesn't seem like enough."

"Trust me." Alex looked up now and smiled a little. His voice altered just a little bit, not enough to be a full command voice, but enough to be way more persuasive than any normal person's voice. "It's an old wives' tale, but it works every time.”