Yeah, maybe make your one message a little less cryptic next time you get kidnapped, 'cause they didn't seem to know what the hell you meant. Oh, and I did tell 'em that they're not allowed to be mad you didn't answer 'em.

[ They can tell him everything else; it's not worth putting more on his plate unless someone drops dead. She's already accepted that she has to play go-between until he leaves, lest everyone in Cadens go insane from stress, and that's enough responsibility for her tastes.

Between the cloth and her nails, she's able to get the most egregious chunks of filth taken care of fairly easily. There are bottles on a shelf near them, and she takes the one that holds the least offensive excuse for shampoo that she's been able to find in this shitty world. She would be willing to strangle someone for a bottle of dollar store men's 3-in-1, but the best she's been able to figure is some concoction of lye and rose water. It does lather, though, and only a few more specks of reddish brown come up, which is excellent. ] I warned 'em it would be a few days, but they're good now. They just made me promise you'd rest.