“Perhaps a little more subtlety is called for?” I suggested.

“Gorefin Bloodripper the Subtle?”

“Ah, no,” I said. “Not exactly.”

She frowned. “Aw, beans. Maybe I shoulda listened to Ripple and borrowed a thesaurus from the library after all.”

“I would love to help you workshop it," I said, "but I have some pressing business to attend to."

“Oh, right! I bet Dr. Crankshaft’s in the back, working on the Hippocampus.”

“The what?”

She smiled broadly. “I don’t wanna ruin the surprise. Go and see.”

I cautiously proceeded through the maze of junk...