"Your voice has changed, hasn't it? Or didn't you notice?" Arlem asks. "You think you aren't any closer, but you are. A little bit. Because there's no fundamental difference between a different skeleton, only a matter of degree. The other thing is, I'm afraid you haven't mastered that basic shape yet. Get practice with tiny differences, and you'll become able to handle larger ones."
She hangs there, waiting to see if Steven has any specific questions or objections.