In shadow and light: waltz of souls

Leticia let out a deep sigh, trying to rein in her lingering irritation after what had just happened. She finally felt she was back in her own body—but after all that, she couldn't simply ignore this phenomenon anymore.

—Alright, — Leticia began, folding her arms, — we need to set some rules.

Aya exhaled and shook her head.

— Oh, of course. You don't want me testing how flexible your body is again? — she teased with a grin.

— Don't even bring it up! — Leticia snapped, her cheeks flaring red. — That's precisely why we need rules! If we're stuck sharing one body, we need clear boundaries!

— Fine, fine, — Aya said with a laugh. — Go ahead—let's hear your brilliant rules.

She sat down at the desk, took up a quill, and opened a blank page in the journal.

— We have to figure this out, — Leticia said firmly, dipping the quill in ink. — If we keep going like this, you'll end up grabbing my body parts without warning again!

Aya snorted with laughter.

— Oh, come on! It was purely scientific curiosity!

Leticia shot her a look of utter disbelief.

— 'Scientific curiosity'? Groping my thighs? — she asked, narrowing her eyes.

— Well, I had to see if your muscles were firmer than mine! — Aya said breezily, then giggled. — By the way, you might really be faster than I was!

— I'll prove it by making you run laps around the courtyard, — Leticia muttered, writing the first line:

**1. Swapping control of the body is only allowed by mutual agreement.

— That means neither of us can just take over unannounced, — she added, penning the second rule:

**2. Do not seize control of the body without permission.

— Makes sense, — Aya agreed. — What about timing? Are we going to share the body on a schedule?

Leticia paused to consider, then wrote:

**3. The body's 'usage time' must be discussed in advance.

— It's like renting it out! — Aya laughed. — You can lend me your body for a couple of hours, and I promise not to cause chaos!

Leticia gave a long sigh.

— You've already caused enough chaos by groping—uh, me—all over! — she grumbled, adding another line:

**4. Do not touch…er…intimate areas without permission while using the body.

She froze, realizing what she was actually writing, and her face instantly turned scarlet.

— I can't believe I even have to put this into writing… — she moaned, covering her face with her hand. "I'm going to die of embarrassment one day… —

Aya burst into laughter.

— Alright, alright, I promise to behave! — she giggled.

Leticia nodded stiffly, trying not to roll her eyes, and added:

**5. Any discoveries made while in someone else's body must be documented in a journal.

— So now we'll have a 'body observation log'?" Aya asked in surprise.

— Well, how else will we figure out why this is happening? — Leticia drew a line across the page. — We note how we feel, any sensations, changes in perception, or effects on emotions and memory.

Aya nodded.

— By the way, when I was in your body, it felt like your reaction to sweets was weaker than mine!" she recalled. — I'd even say you're not as big a fan of them as I am.

Leticia frowned.

— I guess we'll have to verify that… — She wrote in the diary:

**6. Taste preferences may change during body swapping.

Aya seemed to mull that over for a moment, then asked suddenly,

— What if one of us wants to do something important and the other is totally against it? How do we handle that?

Leticia paused, the quill hovering over the page. She hadn't thought of that.

— You mean something serious? — she clarified.

— Yeah, — Aya said with a nod. — Like, suppose you want to meet someone, but I'm dead set against it, or vice versa. Then what?

Leticia tapped the quill against the desk thoughtfully.

— I guess that calls for another rule… — she murmured, then wrote:

**7. If there is a disagreement on an important matter, it must be discussed and a compromise found.

— Ooh, that sounds like a real diplomatic treaty, — Aya joked.

Leticia rolled her eyes.

— Let's just avoid any wars, please.

They exchanged glances, and Aya smirked.

— 'I, Leticia, do hereby grant temporary use of the body!' — she proclaimed.

Leticia rubbed the bridge of her nose.

— No, that's way too official. 

— How about, 'Alright, you can have it!'? — Aya suggested lightly.

Leticia wrote:

**8. Body swaps must only occur after verbal consent.

She looked over what she'd written, satisfied, and gave a nod.

— I think that's enough for now.

Aya tapped her chin, thoughtful.

— This is all well and good, but we still haven't figured out why this is happening.

Leticia's eyes drifted back to the page, where the question remained unanswered. They could manage the process, but they still didn't understand its core mystery.

— Then our next goal is to find out the reason, — she said, closing the journal.

Aya grinned.

— And to see what it's like to run around in your body!

Leticia rolled her eyes.

— As long as it doesn't lead to more 'scientific curiosity'!

Both of them burst into laughter, feeling as though—amid the chaos—a measure of order had finally emerged.