Chloe just kept slipping the little beads in, one at a time while her fingers worked. It was steady, and she was enjoying taking her time, working to overwhelm her one sensation at a time. She giggled as she did it, lips running all along her neck. "I know you were a lot more of a bookworm," she whispered. "That much I remember, because your body was so different from what you actually were. A chance to be someone else. And in this place? A delightful little shield for your heart. What was happening was happening to Alkaid. Not you."

And then she leaned up just enough so that her face was barely visible in the contours, there in the dark. "Except I know it's you, Chika. Does that change things a little?"