"What is it?"

"I can barely feel Harley from where I was usually, but I noticed just now - it's like someone dropped him in a bucket of ice, not even like I doused him, there would be regrowth if I'd done it. There's nothing left for me, just a flicker for you - plenty for Corona, a little spark each for Tima and Sandre, nothing else, and everything I doused is back, not like I never touched it but like it's had a month to rekindle - what happened?"

"I don't know," she says, "but I would dearly like to find out."

"So would I," says Chelsa. "This changes things - I said I'd leave him be when he was still nice and warm - now he's not."

"I'll go talk to him," she promises.

Chelsa nods, teeth clenched. She appears to intend to wait right where she is while this occurs.

"If you're going to sit there, you might as well kill me some more," he says eventually.

"I'd rather talk," she says evenly.

"I don't give a shredded fuck what you'd rather," says Harley.

"That's a shame."

"Eat me."

"I can see this isn't going to be a productive conversation," she sighs. "Chelsa is upset that you don't love her anymore."

"Chelsa should crawl into a hole and die," says Harley.

"That's not going to happen," says Aelise.

"Too fucking bad."

"Do you know anything about where all your kindled connections mysteriously went while you were asleep?"

"Up my ass, wanna take a look?"

"You're doing a pure shit job."

"I stopped Chelsa from dousing you again," she points out. "Is there anything, anything at all, that I could offer you to get you to put up with Chelsa kindling you to her?"

Harley hisses.

"I'll take that as a no."

"Can you not just get her to leave me the fuck alone?" he growls.

"I'll try," she says. "I don't expect it to work. Feel free to run away again. It worked so well the last time."