Pearl tenses, momentarily overcome by it all -- Garnet's gentleness and forcefulness, her touch and her words -- but then that switch in her head flicks back down, and her defenses melt, surrendering to Garnet. She's right; she has to. She has to be punished, so she can learn her place, so she can do better.

(And maybe Garnet will let her come, if she does well.)

So Pearl braces herself, then opens her mouth a little wider, to let Garnet's toe deeper in. She touches the tip of her tongue to it again, carefully, resisting the urge to immediately pull back and instead pushing firmer. Her face twists up -- she's really doing this -- but Pearl bears through, stroking her tongue across the length of Garnet's toe.