Peiter's first few words after coming out of the kiss made Sabine laugh with futility, but at least he didn't reject her. She angled forward so that their foreheads leaned against one another. Sabine would have just been content relaxing with Peiter, perhaps kissing him more, but she felt as if he deserved to know what caused her behaviour. She whispered her words slowly, "Would you sit with me for a while? I was being unfair before today. I want to tell you why."

"Wait," Janius interrupted with firmness in his voice. Having Kaleeth even entertain the idea of taking skooma was too much. He locked serious eyes with Colours and motioned to stop. He was about to go on a tirade about how they would never go near skooma, about its dangers and its consequences, but Janius only paused. He had a better idea. He breathed in quickly, glanced to Kaleeth, and then looked back to Colours with a softened expression. He raised a finger to point at Colours' chest, speaking in a low voice, "If we're going for skooma, you'll take us to a den with other users." Janius lowered his hand.