As Anna and the dwarf talked, Chandra sat down opposite to them both and filled up the first glass for the dwarf, then for Anna, and then held onto the bottle for a moment to see if the liquid in the dwarf’s glass would disappear before she had a chance to pour one for herself. It was a rather large glass, and the whiskey was rather strong, so they did end up with some of it in each of the three glasses.<br/><br/>“A toast,” Chandra said and raised hers, “To peace of mind. Let us fight the evil spirits with spirits of our own.”<br/><br/>After a rather large sip, she put the glass down and introduced herself, “Chandra. You might have seen me dance; that’s what I do. Hope you’ve enjoyed.” Observing Anna’s discomfort, she added to the girl, “You’re among friends, Anna. Relax. Have a drink.”<br/><br/>Looking at each woman in turn, Chandra produced the bundles from under her coat, placed them on the table, and unwrapped one of the papers for a display of delicious strips of meat. She took the first one, chewed it for a moment, and washed it down with another sip of whiskey. Licking her lips, she subtly straightened her leg, and not quite sure why, poked under the hem of Anna’s robe with the foot. Perhaps it was an attempt to further comfort the girl, or perhaps to see how much she could take, and while Chandra appeared perfectly casual and calm to the eyes of the two women, the ankle of her boot gently pressed against the girl’s inner leg just above her ankle and began to stroke it, slowly, up and down, each time a tiny bit higher, up, towards the knee, down, above the ankle,<i>up</i>…<br/><br/>“Best jerky I’ve ever had,” Chandra said and opened her mouth to slip another one in, with just enough delay that anyone who might have happened to stare at her mouth would’ve seen her tongue playing tricks beyond the glossy lips.<div class="messageTextEndMarker"> </div>