Eventually, the cab pulls up outside Rose's apartment.

Kumi alights, graceful in her courtesan's robes, and turns and looks backward to look at Ember. 

She steps down to the pavement as well, looking up at Rose's residence. 

"Let's try," she says.

"Yes, let's." 

Kumi goes up the steps and into the tenement house. A few turns of corridor; she opens Rose's apartment with her key and pauses to let Ember come in.

Ember comes in and pauses in the kitchen. 

"So," she says. "How does this work?"

"I..." 

Kumi stumbles over her words for a moment. It's hard to stay professional.

"... We'll need a bed for comfort," she says. "Rose volunteered hers, so let's go sit there together." 

She closes the door behind Ember and locks up, putting the key back into her pocket.

Ember goes into Rose's bedroom and sits on her bed. It's a small room, barely large enough for the bed and a desk. A single window illuminates the room with the late-afternoon sun. 

It feels a little familiar. Basic. Almost Nidalese. The bed is still too soft, and the window is too large. But for a moment she can pretend to be somewhere she knows.

Kumi comes into Rose's bedroom and closes the internal door behind her. 

She fidgets with the low-cut collar of her courtesan's robes, feeling the soft silk. The contrast between what she's wearing and Ember's rough-spun wool couldn't be more stark. 

She hesitates for a moment - next to Ember, or at the end of the bed? - before splitting the distance, sitting a forearm's length away from her. Close enough to touch her, not close enough that she is.

"So," she says.

"So," Ember says with a small smile. "What are you waiting for?"

She's just another client. 

Kumi exhales and gathers herself. "Nothing. It's just - delicate, I want to make sure you have a good experience. People have deep emotions about sex and sexuality. I want to help you, and that means being careful."

Ember seems to consider for a moment, then nods.

"I understand."

... It's that simple, apparently. 

"Let's start with something less intense. Could you... take off your shirt for me?"

Ember shucks her rough-spun woolen top with absolutely no sentimentality. She's wearing nothing underneath.

Ember's skin is smooth. Unblemished. She was expecting a patchwork of scars. She still hasn't caught up to the fact that she's been healed. 

Kumi's gaze runs up and down Ember's chest and breasts, assessing. 

"... Probably the best thing for you to try, to start with, is for you to touch your nipples."

"In any particular way, or...?"

"Stroke them lightly. Once you're comfortable with that, you can try pinching. That might be a good sensation for you, since you're used to pain."

It's easier when Ember's asking for help.

Ember nods. 

She raises her right hand to her left breast, and begins to gently stroke her nipple, running her fingers around the areola and across the small nub. 

Her eyes slip closed for a moment as it stiffens beneath her touch. 

"... That..." 

She doesn't seem to have words. She tries a light pinch, then increases the pressure and rolls her fingers against each other.

"... It hurts, but..."

"When most people say they enjoy pain, they mean pain that's like that."

Ember nods, and continues to stroke at herself. 

It's an alien sensation to her. It's good in a much more raw and animal way than even the food or the running. There's an echo of the thrill she gets when she cuts into someone's skin.

Her body is giving her strange sensations. Warmth. A sense of hollowness between her legs. 

Her hand roams over her side for a moment, then back up to her breast. 

It's good to feel touch. Even if she's only doing it to herself.

Kumi watches, and says nothing. 

Every touch that Ember makes to herself seems to sear itself into her brain. It's not like with her clients. There she can spend as much time as she wants, keep herself professional, be amiable...

She feels a hunger that she's never felt before. She's had sex, a lot of it, but right now she wants to reach out and cradle Ember's cheek. To press her lips to hers. Not to please her, but because she wants her for herself.

Ember opens her eyes and lets her hand fall from her skin.

"... You were right to show this to me," she says. "Is there more?"

The ache between her legs wants the answer to be yes.

"There is more."

Kumi rests her muzzle against her fist for a moment, then nods. 

"... How do you feel?"

"Warm. There is a - not a hunger, but an ache. A... need for pleasure that wants satisfying."

"Then go ahead and try to satisfy it. If you have trouble I'll tell you what to do, but... You deserve to discover this on your own."

Ember shifts back onto the bed, and slips off her rough-spun skirt. Then she slips her hand in between her legs and presses the flat against her sex. By instinct, she begins to grind and rub.

Her eyes close, her mind focused. She doesn't sigh or even breathe particularly hard. This is far less intense than the pain she's suffered, and it will not overmaster her.

Her hips rock into her hand, and her fingers seek for the best place to touch. It doesn't take her too long to find her clitoris. Light touches are better than harsh ones, here. 

It's not unlike her experience hurting and being hurt... just better.