ghosts in the flesh
by greensilver
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Sam sees Elliot, but Jolinar sees only Lantash; her teeth close over the exact spot on his collarbone that would've made Martouf writhe. Elliot wants Sam, but Lantash wants only Jolinar; his hands seek out the places Rosha was most sensitive. Their bodies clash as the ghosts within attempt to suppress the reality of the flesh, resisting and resisting until at last they fail. The easy patterns of memory give way to the unpleasant truths beneath their fingertips, and at once the landscape is frighteningly unfamiliar. He is not Lantash. She is not Jolinar. When memory fails, they are what they have always been: hosts left drained and empty, seeking an other half to fill the void.