Polite Forms of Bribery [open]
As shocking as it may be to some, Ali is working. Dreadful thought. Sitting at her desk, she's got a stack of clean white stationary pages at her elbow and a pen in hand. The two meet only hesitantly, at irregular intervals filled with her half-whispered attempts to find just the write words that say everything and promise nothing. From time to time she glances up at the mirror on the wall, checking to see if anyone is at the door. She is, some might note, dressed much more seasonably than she has been lately, with arms and shoulders bared aside from thin bands of fabric and metal.