*bwok* *fa-thud*

“I thought Reed was your little man, Lacto.”

“Haven’t seen Reed in a good minute… It’s you I’m caring for now, Vonn”

*glok*

“And he’s not little.”

*bramm*

“You bitch! Stop kicking me in the head!”

“Mmnh, baby’s cranky isn’t he? Time for your milk.”

*shwooom*

Lactowoman clicks the red button on the pump harnessed to her chest, and a creamy white liquid shoots through the air into Vonn’s agape lips, dribbling down his chin.

“Sometimes it’s hard to get a good latch. Latching is an art and there are no rules. The feeding is a full body experience.”

“Whaa… whaaats happening to me?”

“Give it up, Vonn, I know about your stunt with Orion, how the so-called shatavari plants you used to make the pro-lactation galactagogues were really plants from the bad side of Lakini Island… the toxic side.”

*Glek* “Help me!”

“Do you know how many women had their milk poisoned by you, how many infants you turned into… shabiri!”

“HA-that’s all conspiracy. I thought you were smarter than that.”

Lactowoman takes her hand off the pump but Vonn’s cells continue to mutate flipping through a range of potential sequences. She loves to watch this process, how her milk fulfills a need, how the baby responds to the nutrients, morphing and expanding. First his skin turns into bark, then his stomach grows petals that quiver to the beat of his feeble heart, each change a small, cellular explosion that feels like being melted from the inside. Ultimately the show ends the same way: everything returns to dust.

She walks over to Vonn and takes his head in her arms, stroking his cheek with the back of her hand–his face is the only thing that remains stable.

“There’s only one way to stop the pain, Vonn. Tell me how to get to Lakini Island. Recall your pharmaceuticals. End climate change.”

Vonn laughs and his morphing slows down. A river opens along his legs and fish swim in it jumping pleasantly under the whites of Lactowoman’s colorless eyes.

“That’s all you want, a vacation with yours truly on Lakini Island? You really are a thirsty bitch,” Vonn says.

“You’re the thirsty one.” Lactowoman flips the switch on her pump removing it from her body then lays it on the sticky floor. She pulls Vonn’s head into her lap and tips over him. “Drink up.” She doesn’t like to nurse her enemies, but sometimes it’s necessary. Reed taught her that.