Eda, meanwhile, was trying very hard not to think about that part of the dream. That part nagged in a way that was harder to explain away. But it wasn't time to deal with that yet.

Instead, as Raine relaxed against her, she stopped squeezing them quite so hard and instead moved a hand to start stroking their hair, being careful not to scratch them.

She opened her mouth to give a serious answer, and then paused. This might be a good time to break the tension. "Well, it used to take a lot of apple blood. But... you could try feeding the Web some mice?"