It wouldn't be very practical to consume evidence that can be traced the moment that it passes. Besides, I could dispose of it just as easily down someone else's throat.

[Oddly enough, Kit didn't seem to mind the shift in topic. For one who didn't want to give his foster parents cause to worry, he was awfully quick to continue discussing worrying things. His choice in conversational partners wasn't much better, either. If they could see him now, pulling on a cigarette next to a boy whose face may as well have been streaked with war paint, their fate might not be all that different from Styx's.

But it felt natural to him. Like slipping out of an uncomfortable suit and into his own skin.]

In any case, you're right. Depending upon how much pain you want to inflict, it's more efficient and precise to use your own hands.

[Only those who were clinical in their methods or squeamish would avoid doing so, not that Kit could say he blamed them. Nature could be a beautiful thing, but it was never wise to mistake it as tame. The world was a savage garden ready to consume the unwary. People were much the same, as willing as they were capable of tearing each other apart. The resulting pulp didn't always sit well with some stomachs.]