[ You might be surprised, he says, and Aerith just smiles. Of course it's true that she might be, if they were to talk about it, but somehow she doubts it. Then again, she can't blame him for assuming. She's sure that he doesn't meet many people who have been forced to sleep in an actual honest-to-gods cage. Realistically, there probably aren't many others at all.

But nor is there any point in explaining that to him. All it would do would be to make him feel bad over her circumstances, and that's not the point. Her past is her past, nothing more and nothing less. Right?

So instead she focuses on his response, nodding when he elaborates on her idea. And, she thinks, he's exactly right. Not all favors have to be sexual, do they? It could be possible to strike a deal with someone without needing to sleep with them. But one thing is true, and that's that most people will want something in return, sexual favors or otherwise.

She's learned a lot from Cloud's mercenary ways.

She offers Ragna a small, nonchalant shrug. ]

Maybe in a place like this, that's just the best way to look at it, you know? I may not remember being here for that long, but it seems to me like the kinda things we're expected to do here, they might make people uncomfortable. I mean, at least to my knowledge, I'd never had sex before I arrived here. So being confronted with it so abruptly was kinda a lot. I made mistakes that I'll have to learn from, too.

[ She holds up the fleshlight in her hand, waving it around a little. ]

Would you answer a question for me, Ragna?