The loosening of his skin has made the Rokuga testier than usual, especially as it makes his vision foggy. After the exhaustion of the previous day, he still feels a bit lethargic, but heads for the hot springs to deal with his his shedding.

He isn't quite along. On the other side of the wall separating the male and female halves of the springs, Madame Natasha is also refreshing herself after the ritual involving Clover Chalk.

Qing lets her know about the dismantling of the staff, and the intervention of Buffy on behalf of the children's spirits. Natasha suggests a means of further investigating the odd vampire spirit, as Qing is also interested.

The Rokuga also brings up the most disturbing bit of information about the staff: his encounter with a link or influence from Necropolis. Due to the seriousness of this, Natasha sends her dragon-familiar through the wall so she can converse with Qing face-to-face.

The shedding process is having a definite effect on Qing as well, as he feels his senses expand with the removal of the old skin. Things are interrupted slightly when Emmett pokes his head in, and Qing finishes sloughing off years of chemicals and dark influences that had saturated his old scales.