“Come with me.” I followed him into the basement where it was empty. It looked a lot like a dungeon. I was kind of excited to see what he had for ...me. There was a lot of things hanging from the ceiling and tables and stuff. “Are you claustrophobic?” he asked me as we walked into a room. I shook my head no, and he nodded. “Would you be okay tied down?” I nodded. “Have you had any experience with bondage or vibrators before?” he asked. I shook my head. He looked behind him, and there was a chair. “I need to do something that approaches normality. Perhaps I should ask to go to dinner or a movie or ... something.”Rhee stood, pulled me up from my chair, and wrapped me in a gentle hug.“I suggest, then, that you not go somewhere elegant, as that’s certainly not normal for any of us. Take him to the Thai place. From there, you could just walk through town, talking, window shopping.”I leaned back so that I could look at her face.“I am not more poetic than you are, we’re just differently. Just hugging and making each other feel wanted and reassured. Then, if we want to, we could both disrobe and touch our bodies together.once we are truly comfortable enough to do so.”“That sounds nice.and then?”“We continue to hug and comfort each other, this time with our nude bodies touching each other. We embrace, softly kiss, and share that we love each other and that what we are doing and are about to do is good and right.”“.What we are about to do?”“Yes.when the time is right, I will. Therefore their strings will be cut for the actual fight. But fear not, lads. You'll get the hang of it."Timicus poofed a set of brown cloth suits beside them, their shapes resembling suits of armor, just without any metal."These will help protect you from their fire, but you probably won't want to wear them until you have to. They're awfully itchy."Two more poofs revealed a pair of shields and long pikes with silver tips. The shields were insulated with the same material as the suits, while.