"Are you still there, gnat?" Lucaria sneered, squeezing the battered little form of her trainer  Sift between her ample toes. "You'd better be. I think it's about time you realized just how much those pithy little trinkets mean to me..."

Sift, struggling to breathe in the pinching pressure, could do little more than weakly protest as Lucaria licked her muzzle in anticipation.