Geraint bent down, kissed Vara, wiped away her tears.  He put his finger to her lips, went out to where the other buckets and pails were heating before the fire.  He brought them to the tub, filled it, again, with hot water.  When that was done, he looked around the little room, finding what he was looking for - old soap bars, still in their wax paper wrappers.  He opened one up, sniffed it - it was aggressively floral but age had dulled it somewhat - and then climbed into the tub with Vara.  This time, he lathered up his hands, and started washing her - starting at her throat, going up to her hair, and her shoulders.<br/><br/>He said, "I didn't know it was a thing, either.  Live and learn."  He still had the sense of something watching them, but it seemed more peaceful, or perhaps satiated.  "If you ask me, that thing is about a step away from being something like Blackvayne.  It's an important step, it's the difference between thinking about killing someone and doing it, but I think we just fed that spirit.  That sexy, sexy spirit sorta just used us as lunch.  Maybe at some point, Blackvayne could have become something like her, but chose a different way - chose to stay physical."  He didn't know why he felt that, but he felt it <i>could</i> be true, that in some sense it <i>was</i> true.<br/><br/>"I'm telling myself that when you're out here where the winds of Limbo roar, things get weird.  It's possible the further we get from Tar Hollow and Blackvayne's demesne the weirder things will get.   Get up so I can get the rest of you, I like soaping a woman's body."  He stood up, himself.  "The other thing is... is this the way it's going to be?  I mean, we go into a town and there's a good-looking girl giving us both the eye are we, hey, yeah, let's jump into bed?  Will you want to watch me fuck other women?  Do you want me to watch other women and men fuck you?"