“Something from out in the dark brushed her throat, dampfingers smearing her with warm wetness. She started, raising a hand against it, but touched nothing.A teasing whisper in her ear – no, more a thought. Come to me …She glanced around to see if anyone else had heard, but those near her gazed eagerly ahead. Except the Riper; he watched her.”

“Naif felt his tentacle caress her again, This time, though, he was holding something as well. It was rough hessian and the smell from it was putrid, like something dead a few days. She tried to push him away but his tentacle ws strong and persistent, not withdrawing until he'd wiped the cloth over her.”

“Will you wait for me on the platform then?’Suki looked at Rollo and cast her eyes upward. ‘I suppose so.’Retra smiled at her. ‘Don’t you mean, “I guess so”?”

“Everyone comes here for pleasure. Even if they think they don't. Embracing it is harder for some and they go mad before they truly accept it. Most of the places they cme from are founded on guilt and rules. The Ripers want us to break away from that - some wish to tear it from us while others are more subtle.”

“What the Fross?” Whispered Kero”

“You slow. Is Dangerous." His tentacles curled down, gripping the ends of the wood. As they watched he slid off the crate and nudged it away. Underneath was a grate, filthy with slude. He plunged his tentacles into the gaps and pulled it aside. "There is drop.”

“In Ixion music and party are our only beliefs. Darkness is our comfort. We have few rules but they are absolute. Your endocrine systems have been altered by changes to your hypothalamus. You no longer need to sleep or see sunlight.”