Well,

( her tone is unexpectedly a little rueful, more than anything else, )

I believe that may, perhaps, explain another facet of my present experience. I've been experiencing great discomfort, beneath my back. ( beneath the skin, she means; she is not abruptly talking about her own backside, generally covered by so many layers of fabric as to exist entirely in the theoretical to most people. ) An itch, an irritation. The...scales that you see seemed, when I managed to find them in a mirror, more concentrated there, and more—

( her nose wrinkles, slightly. this is a challenging topic to speak upon delicately, and it feels somewhat crass. )

Loose. They come away beneath fabric whenever I should move.