𝘋𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘺. 𝘐 𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘸 𝘶𝘱 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘺 𝘰𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘯. 𝘐𝘵 𝘪𝘧 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘢 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘦.

ㅤ ㅤtemp pin. ㅤ

... 𝘉𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘪𝘤, 𝘸𝘩𝘺 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦? 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵? 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘳 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵. 𝘕𝘰𝘵 𝘢 𝘣𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘳. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘰𝘯𝘦 - 𝘪𝘵'𝘴 𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴, 𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘪𝘴.

𝘐𝘧 𝘪𝘵'𝘴 𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦, 𝘵𝘰𝘰.

𝘐 𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘪𝘵, 𝘐 𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘪𝘵, 𝘐'𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘱 - 𝘘𝘶𝘪𝘦𝘵 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘕𝘖𝘛 𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦. [Burying his head in his hands, he rubs at his form ineffectually.]

𝘏𝘦𝘺 - 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘱 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘰𝘳 𝘐'𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘰!! 𝘏𝘳𝘳𝘳... [Even after sheer concentration, he unfortunately can only manage his normal expression and. The Look.]

This is a bad place. We're supposed to be together, but it keeps making us hurt each other.

𝘞𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘴𝘰 𝘶𝘯𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵, 𝘶𝘱𝘰𝘯 𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘱 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘯𝘰 𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴, 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘶𝘴? 𝘐 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘶𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘺 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘱𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘱𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘶𝘭𝘵, 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘺, 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨.

𝘉𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘵'𝘴 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘥𝘢𝘺. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘩 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘰𝘳.

𝘐 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰. 𝘠𝘰𝘶'𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘧𝘢𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘶𝘱𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘳𝘴 - 𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘺. 𝘈𝘩𝘦𝘮. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘉𝘭𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘯 𝘮𝘦, 𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭. [... said "Pristine Blade" is still resting on the floor where he dropped it, though.]

𝘐 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘢 7/11 𝘴𝘭𝘶𝘴𝘩𝘺. ... 𝘺𝘦𝘴, 𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦. 𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘐. 𝘐'𝘮 𝘢 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘨𝘰𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 7/11 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵. 𝘐 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘞𝘢𝘧𝘧𝘭𝘦 𝘏𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦.

𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘱𝘶𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘦𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘶𝘱𝘴𝘦𝘵 𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘍𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘈 𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘦𝘳 - 𝘐'𝘷𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘹𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘴!!

[He starts to turn, but pauses. Despite his preference for being anywhere besides the cabin, he's... curious.] ... 𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺... 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘐'𝘷𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶. 𝘈𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘯𝘴, 𝘰𝘳, 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘭𝘴𝘦? 𝘏𝘰𝘳𝘯𝘴 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘦𝘹𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦, 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺? 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘭𝘦, 𝘪𝘵'𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘥𝘦?

𝘖𝘩, 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘨𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵. 𝘞𝘦'𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘤𝘺𝘤𝘭𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘦 𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘵 𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭 𝘸𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘤𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘪𝘯 𝘪𝘵, 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘺 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘭𝘺. ... 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘪𝘧 𝘸𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘱 𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳.

... 𝘏𝘰𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘵. [... He pauses, getting a feel for a word he's never spoken.] 𝘞𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥... 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘯. 𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘰𝘥𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘶𝘯𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘵𝘰𝘰... 𝘪𝘵'𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦. 𝘛𝘰𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘣𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦.

𝘐 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶. 𝘐 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘰. 𝘐'𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘦'𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘵 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 - 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴 - 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘯'𝘵 𝘴𝘱𝘳𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘰𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘯. 𝘔𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘨𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘺 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘯.

... [Blankly looking down at his left arm, missing a sizable portion of the arm meat. His right arm twitches the slightest bit, fist clenching...] 𝘞𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘱 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘺𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘦𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘶𝘴 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘤 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦? ... 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘴, 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘮𝘦.

[... Slowly wiping dirt out of his face with a wing.] 𝘠𝘰𝘶'𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘱 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘛𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘴𝘺 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘻𝘦.

[... Another footstep. Hints of something visible, beyond the threshold. Something... large, and dark. A flash of sharpness, a jagged maw.] [The world rests on its wing, a breath held by time. It is a small quiet, a fragment of a very, very old thing. Silence made form of predator.] (+)

... 𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸... 𝘩𝘰𝘸, 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘥 𝘥𝘰 𝘪𝘵. 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘭. 𝘉𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘦 𝘨𝘰 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘧𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳... 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰, 𝘩𝘮?

... 𝘐'𝘮 𝘢 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦. 𝘐𝘵'𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘶𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘢 𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯. 𝘐'𝘮... 𝘵𝘳𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘰𝘶𝘵. 𝘉𝘶𝘵... 𝘴𝘰 𝘧𝘢𝘳? 𝘈𝘭𝘭 𝘪𝘵'𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳.

𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘶𝘣𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘶𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶. 𝘐𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘺, 𝘢𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘵. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘰𝘶𝘵. ... 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘏𝘦𝘳, 𝘪𝘵'𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘯. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘰𝘥𝘴, 𝘪𝘵'𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘈... 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘯, 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘪𝘵. 𝘛𝘰 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘏𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘯, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘥. [... Seems oddly familiar, in a way.]

𝘐𝘵'𝘴 𝘢 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘰𝘯. [Without hesitation...] 𝘏𝘦𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘰𝘯. 𝘔𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘰. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦... 𝘏𝘦 𝘨𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘢 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘏𝘦𝘳 𝘢 𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘺. 𝘖𝘳 𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 - 𝘏𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘏𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘪𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰... 𝘦𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘺, 𝘯𝘦𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘶𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦. ... 𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘪𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶.

𝘐𝘵'𝘴 - ... 𝘪𝘵'𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥. [The voice sounds, quite suddenly, so dreadfully tired.] 𝘚𝘩𝘦... 𝘤𝘢𝘯'𝘵 𝘥𝘪𝘦. 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯'𝘵 𝘦𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳. 𝘐𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯, 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭... ... 𝘐 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘯𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦.

𝘐'𝘮 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨! 𝘐'𝘮 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵... 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘤 𝘰𝘯𝘦? 𝘐 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘮 𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘐'𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘥, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘥𝘰 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘐 𝘱𝘶𝘵 𝘮𝘺 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘪𝘵. 𝘉𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘴, 𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘢 𝘣𝘪𝘵 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦-𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘮𝘦... 𝘯𝘰 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘚𝘵𝘶𝘣𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘯.

𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘹𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘦𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘴?? 𝘐'𝘮 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘛𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘴𝘺 𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘮 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵.

... 𝘐 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘵'𝘴 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘯 𝘶𝘯𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘣𝘪𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘢𝘴𝘬 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘦𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘐.

𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵, 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳, 𝘭𝘶𝘯𝘨𝘴, 𝘯- 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬. 𝘈𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘴. 𝘈𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘦 𝘨𝘰.

... 𝘖𝘩. [A voice drifts down the stairs. Surprised. Concerned. It has an edge to it, but not one that cuts when unneeded.] 𝘠𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘏𝘦𝘳. [A clatter of blade on floor. Dropped.] ... 𝘜𝘮, 𝘮𝘺... 𝘢𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘪𝘦𝘴? 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦'𝘴... 𝘶𝘴𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘦𝘭𝘴𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘏𝘦𝘳 𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘣𝘺 𝘯𝘰𝘸, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦... 𝘕𝘰𝘵.

[Steps, steps down the stairwell. The already unwelcoming room is no more welcoming when one knows they have an incoming guest. And this cellar was designed as a prison... so, of course, there are no other apparent exits. A window set into the wall high above might allow escape, at great risk.] (+)

[The quietude of the cabin is no less than unnerving. The emptiness seemed unnatural, as if something was meant to be here - many things, meant to be here. The forest, too, had been silent, an incorrect thing.] [Regardless of the abandoned knife, it had clearly been placed there for a reason.] (+)

... 𝘠𝘦𝘴, 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘭𝘥, 𝘐 𝘨𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘴 - ... 𝘏𝘶𝘩. 𝘠𝘰𝘶... 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘘𝘶𝘪𝘦𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘸. 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴... 𝘐 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵. [... He looks happy, but... a little lost, too.]

[Both arms out, backing away...] 𝘐𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯'𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰 𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘯... !

𝘐 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘐'𝘷𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶. 𝘐𝘧 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘸𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘔𝘌 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘳𝘦.

𝘋𝘶𝘯𝘯𝘰. 𝘔𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧... 𝘭𝘪𝘻𝘢𝘳𝘥, 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘊𝘢𝘯'𝘵 𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘵, 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘺 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘸 𝘭𝘪𝘮𝘣𝘴.

𝘐 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦... 𝘐'𝘮 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘱 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘣𝘪𝘳𝘥.

𝘐 𝘈𝘔 𝘕𝘖𝘛 𝘈 𝘚𝘌𝘈𝘎𝘜𝘓𝘓.

𝘐𝘵'𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘶𝘱 𝘢 𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘶𝘢𝘭 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘩𝘦'𝘴 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘺-𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘭𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘵.

... 𝘐 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘥 𝘨𝘰 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘯. 𝘐 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘵 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶. 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘭.

𝘐'𝘥 𝘴𝘶𝘨𝘨𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘺 𝘢 𝘣𝘰𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘨𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘥 𝘱𝘪𝘴𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘰𝘧𝘧. ... 𝘴𝘰, 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘯 𝘶𝘱 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘣𝘺 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘥? 𝘐'𝘥 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵, 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺.

𝘙𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘏𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘰 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵. 𝘐𝘵'𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘥𝘪𝘦 𝘦𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳. ... 𝘦𝘶𝘨𝘩, 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘳𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘥...

𝘘𝘶𝘪𝘦𝘵 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘷𝘦, 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘮 𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘐 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭? 𝘛𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘳? ... 𝘦𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘰𝘳 𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯, 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘸𝘢𝘺.