"You were already strong; they wouldn't have taken you if you weren't," Surreal pointed out bluntly. "Mord'Sith don't like their toys to break easily, from what I've gathered."

"She's hard and angry and cruel too," Tiny-Surreal pointed out helpfully. "It's what I made her. We're the knife-edge, and she's really only happy when she's killing."

"I'm happiest when killing," Surreal corrected her younger-self absently. "--because it's what they've earned."