For just a moment, Gu Xiang stares at her, open-mouthed. She hadn't realized that this strange girl was actually good at poetry! But she can tell from the cadences of the recitation that this isn't a poem memorized and recited; this is a poem composed in the moment, meant for Gu Xiang's ears only, cutting as a whip-crack.

If her heart beats faster, surely it's only the rush of battle.

"See how the cat proudly licks her asshole,
glorying in breaking the mouse's neck--
a pitiful triumph! This cowardly little asshole
slinks away from other cats, hissing,
arching her back, tail tucked to shield her asshole.
Show me your claws, kitten. I am no mouse.
I am a tiger, and in the jungle, I am the biggest asshole."