On the eve of her wedding, a woman is confronted by another who demands that her frail brother, Winsil, must attend. The woman refuses, revealing her status as a 'lowly white scale' and her resentment that Winsil, their half-brother born to a human mother, is the only human the other woman doesn't despise. Under pressure and reminded of her duty, the woman relents. She reveals she only has thirty-three of something left, setting a desperate limit to whatever price must be paid.