"Yeah. You're in good hands with the Bower escorts."

"Oh, I think I hear someone coming already."

A golden-furred kitsune with a gold kiseru in one hand turns the corner, thin wisps of smoke trailing from her pipe. "Ishaza," she says. "And company. Who's the client?"

"Tabs, the pink-haired one."

Aya slides into the booth alongside Aurica. "So, go ahead and ask."

"Um... What's in the pipe?"

"Chi. It's originally from my world, the OTC only started exporting it afterwards. In case you don't know it's a stimulant and mildly addictive - it's basically coffee. I used to have a habit of eating it - which is more like doing meth - but I kicked it with Sunaira's help."

"I... see. Did you start in prostitution because of your Chi habit, or...?"

"Yes. But I don't regret it, the business has turned out to be worth it. I had some very bad experiences, but the Bowers..."

"It all makes up for it in the end, huh?"

"What other job pays you to lie around texting?"

"...texting?"

"Aya mostly serves clients who get off on being ignored. She's world-class at being of use while doing something else."

"They can't handle me when my blood is up."

"What, ah, do you do then?"

"Heavy degradation, strict D/S, that sort of thing."

"Aya is what is colloquially known as a quote 'bitch-breaker' unquote."

"I... see. Well, more power to her I guess."

"I don't need it, I've already got more than enough." She takes a puff of her pipe.

"Ahahah, I see. Well, I won't keep you any longer..."

"Does Aya make you uncomfortable?"

"... yes. There's the pipe, and the bad experiences in her history, and the fact that all her interactions with her clients seem to cast them in a bad light..."

"But I still enjoy being an escort here and I'm not being abused. So what is it that you're really uncomfortable about?"

"... I don't know."

"Excuse me, is this the table?"