“Flattery is like cologne water, to be smelt of, not swallowed.”
“Society, my dear, is like salt water, good to swim in but hard to swallow.”
“Night smelt the way Havoc’s songs sounded. It smelt of steel and rushlights and the marsh welcoming a misstep and anger souring like old blood.”
“In the desert the most loved waters, like a lover's name, are carried blue in your hands, enter your throat. One swallows absence.”
“Of course you like him; everyone enjoys flattery.”
“Because nothing says flattery like a gun to the head.”