Flowery was running now, he couldn’t even remember when he started running but all he knows is that he must. This is no longer a situation he can afford to waste time on, everything is a ticking time bomb and everyone who resides in the kingdom, including him, knows it.
The snow crunched under his feet, a shiver down his spine. He had abandoned his jacket and vest, no longer caring for his own health, he is beyond help anyway.
“how do i…”
Flowery was attempting too combine the seven determination shards, to make a full soul for himself, a soul he can use too defeat the human and monster before anyone else has too die.
Every attempt perviously had sadly failed right in front of his eyes, something that fuelled his wrath beyond anything he had ever felt before.
It wasn’t joy, he felt that when he would look at his sisters dancing, sparring and singing. It was a warm feeling, a feeling we would give anything to feel again, even his own life.
It wasn’t sadness, Flowery feels that through every bone constantly, background noise to anything and everything he ever feels or does. A feeling he has sunk into on the periods he stays in bed, nearly unmoving, for days on end. Not even showering, brushing his teeth or doing anything a normal human does.
It wasn’t love either, Flowery felt that on the wedding day, when the dark fountain opened, whenever he looked at Green’s eyes longer and deeper than usual.
Flowery just couldn’t recognise the feeling stirring inside him! So he’ll call it what everyone else does.
“Determination.”
He swallowed the saliva building his throat, as if he’s afraid it will freeze inside his mouth.
Flowery looks down at the seven shards, all of which shimmer despite the dark sky surrounding them. He bites his lip, crouching behind a tree too allow himself to focus.
He had recently found out, the gems are similar to puzzle pieces, each clicking together when put in the right place but he could never make the full heart, it’s as if one piece is missing from the batch.
‘i haven’t seen Asgore in a while.’ He thinks absentminded as he begins clicking the pieces together. Part of him wants to believe Kris would never harm their own father, but deep down, he knew Kris wasn’t the same anymore.
Kris would have never done this.
This isn’t the same Kris that played with knives, This isn’t the same Kris that sang along when Toriel played her songs.
That thing wasn’t Kris at all.
Flowery bit down multiple sobs and regrets as his thoughts ran wild, still clicking the crystals together as if something might save him if he finally does it. As if he can even be saved at all anymore.
He just fucks around with the gems, until something happens. Despite how hopeless it is, this is hopeless, He’s hopeless. everything is hopeless.
((FOR MOD LICORICE: HI!! I hope I'm not bothering u T0T this ARG seems so interesting wahahahaha also just wondering if the missing posters vignette thing can be turned off? Cos it's kinda hard to read sorry :())
No, No I have not. I am sure he is fine though.
SANITY: ▮▮▮▮▮▮[60%]
(Mod Licorice: I do not have access to the strawpage, as it was made by my moot @just-aqua-things who is also working with me on this project. I suggest turning up your brightness to see it a bit better- sorry if it doesnt help tho TwT )
Green ran, ran as fast as they could. Not looking back, Not even looking forward really. They needed to escape the cold by any means, even if it meant abandoning their kindness, as much as it hurts.
They were never one to be selfish, but theres a first time for everything. Green had left Blue in the dust out of desperation, and anyone with eyes could see how much it already haunts them.
Blue would most likely forgive them, but could green forgive themself?
No matter the answer, Green has more pressing matters. Practically throwing themself behind the diner counter, it was dusty and messy but Green couldn’t care less. They currently wish too survive.
Their heart is racing and their breathing is hammering. So, Green does what they always do.
“Lungs, heart, liver, nerves.”
They repeat mentally, the mantra helping to stabilize them.
Flowery taught them it for when their anxiety flared up, for when the crowds got too loud, when they textures were too much. Just saying those four words over and over would help distract Green from the situation at hand, and even now, it works like a charm.
Green tucks themself further under the counter, staying as unmoving and as still as they can be. Trying to ignore the people calling their name, they know it’s not real, but their heart still clenches.
They force themself to think happy thoughts, thoughts of Orange, thoughts of cooking, thoughts of Flowery.
Their heart skips a beat, they know it’s bad too feel slightly giddy over their crush when trying to save their own life but the feeling is nice, its combats the fear and lets them think straight in a situation like this.
Green thinks about how Orange would react if them and Flowery ever did date, even if they don’t have much of a chance, They could see Orange being proud of the two, though would definitely demand no ‘icky stuff’.
They hold back a chuckle, Orange was so cute, Green wishes they got to say goodbye. Not to just Orange, but to everyone truthfully. Even in the face of death, they want to remain kind, especially after what they did too blue.
Their thoughts are cut short by footsteps, armored steps mixed with hooves on wood. Green covers their mouth, despite being completely non-verbal, it feels more secure.
More footsteps, occasionally talking and then a faint twinkle. That grows louder, and louder.
“Lungs, heart, liver, nerves.”
It becomes almost deafening.
“Lungs,heart,liver,nerves.”
Green feels their own tears drip down.
“lungsheartlivernerves.”
They take a shaky breath as it grows cold.
“LUNGSHEARTLIVERNERVES.”
And with a smile.
“Flowery.”
They push themselves up.
“I love you.”
and exit from under the counter.
* BATTLE WON. you got 200$, 40 EXP and ‘Green’s love letter!’
Flowery walked across the now wilted kingdom, clutching seven red gems in his shivering hands. He felt sick to his stomach having to dig at his own family’s corpses simply to get more of the frozen determination.
But it was mandatory. This determination will help him grow enough to avenge his loved ones, even if it ends with him having to kill the lightners.
A worthy price to pay for harming those who were under his care. Flowery let out a breath, visible in the freezing air.
He had put on his jacket for once, desperate times call for desperate solutions as they say. Flowery chuckles at his own joke about himself before the reality of the situation dragged him back down.
This was no time for jokes.
The flower continued walking, his heart felt heavy and his body felt numb, but all he could think about was how heavy and numb the others were. He was standing here alive after all.
Flowery clutched the red gems tighter, careful not to break them under his grip. He needs them more than he has needed anything before, he can’t risk losing that.
He just needs to keep walking. keep. walking. It doesn’t matter if it hurts. just keep walking.
The whole of the flower kingdom had been frozen over now, an irony Flowery couldn’t help but laugh at. It was prophesied to be drowned in flame yet here it stands, frozen beyond repair, the exact opposite of what was ‘meant’ to happen.
Deep down, Flowery believes he would have preferred the flame, the fire, the burn. At least then he’d be with his family, and at least then they’d be at peace. Tears prick the flower man’s eyes as he imagines a heaven, a heaven he knew he didn’t deserve.
The snow crunched under his boots, leaving imprints behind him as he moved. The sound was… calming almost. Flowery has never heard or even seen snow in person before, the most he’s ever seen was on those shows asgore watched for the holidays.
Holidays.
He thinks of Carol, and what he thinks of her. Surprisingly, he admires Carol in all honesty. Shes a leader, she takes charge, shes set on her goals.
Flowery is envious over the control she has, He isn’t like her, and he can’t be but it doesn’t stop him from thinking on what life would be like had he been… stricter. Asgore would have respected him, the flowers would have been safe, everything would have gone exactly how he planned.
But it isn’t Flowery’s place to make commands, he’s not like the others. His goal is simply to make them happy, but he couldn’t even do that. He truly is lesser than the seven before him, Maybe in another life he realized that sooner, maybe in that life they wouldn’t have had to deal with him.
He doesn’t even remember where he’s going, is he going to find asgore? more determination? the bunker? maybe he’s just walking for the sake of it.
Flowery reaches the flower castle, tapping the doorframe twice while he’s outside, and twice again when he enters. Its dark, very dark, the frost short circuited the lights into disfunction. Flowery sighed.
He slipped his jacket off, making sure to hit the light switch five times before he does. For the routine, he tells himself, always for the routine. He heads to the diner, placing the gems inside his vest pocket.
He felt silly, wishing to do such a mundane task like cleaning the counters at a time like this but skipping it felt wrong, made him feel bone nauseous beyond anything, and he couldn’t handle that feeling. Not at a time like this.
When he reaches Green’s diner, its abandoned looks accompany a distinct rotting smell, he knows what that smell is, he dragged the source of it away in his grief ridden trance only hours ago but that does not stop his stomach from dropping.
Flowery grabbed a discarded stained cloth from one of the tables, heading to the sink as soon as he had it. Five counter clockwise, seven clockwise. Just like always.
just like always.
Flowery follows his routine, just like he always does, he feels like pure filth if he doesn’t, like his own body is actively rotting against his lungs, like his own body is betraying him.
can i get uhhhhh a yellow x pink (deltarune) stimboard with themes of hypnotism and kisses.
(mew mew can canonically control people with kisses according to alphys so i think that carries over too pink. i imagine whenever yellow’s thoughts get bad he asks her yo hypnotise him too clear his mind for a bit :3)
cutiecowboy hypnotism / kisses themed stimboard
🌸🎀🌀 // gif 🐾 credits // 💐⭐️🌻
a / n : HAHA WAIT PINK AND YELLOW FUNNY COLOURS. also sorry this request took me so long to make I don't have a good reason I'm just a procrastinator #mybad
Yellow shrieked at the following Floradinns, Netskies, and the plethora of other critters tagging along for safety. The cowboy swallowed down his fear as he led the mob towards the hidden flora.
He discovered this place a while ago and had begun using it for his secret affairs outside of the other flower's knowledge but now he will be turning it into a shelter. A shelter from the incoming winter brought by the lightners.
Yellow cradled a Kawkaw gently in his arms, the poor thing got spooked by the raging storm coming from the castle, Yellow couldn’t blame it, he was terrified too.
“Shh. shh.. don’t worry, buddy, everythin’ is gonna be fine.”
He was lying to both the cute bird and himself.
What a foul criminal he’s become.
He mentally scorned himself, making sure to note he deserves a punishment later for this terrible crime, he’ll set up another hyper punishment gun when they reach his bunker.
If they reach the bunker that is.
Yellow knows everyone can feel the air getting colder and colder as they move, and he knows they aren’t saying anything too not jinx themselves.
His spurs click as they continue to walk foward.
The bird whimpers in his arm, Yellow holds it closer, petting the gentle feathers of the small, fragile avian.
Yellow isn’t used to the silence, whenever there is floradinns or netskies, there is noise, but it isn’t like that anymore and it’s making his heart race with unease.
But despite everything, he moves forward.
“Keep movin’, everyun! We’re almost there!”
Yellow fakes the happiest voice he can muster, he hates too trick the people he protects from criminells but he doesn’t want to make the situation more stressful.
he’ll have to make his later punishment worse for each lie he tells, its only fair for the people. he’ll make it slow and painful for himself, theres rope in the storage room—
“excuse me?… sheriff?… we’re here..”
Yellow glances at the young floradinn tugging at his clothing, he blinks, noticing that the little sprout was in fact correct, they had arrived at the bunker.
“oh….. OH!”
The cowboy turns on his heels, facing the many flora that had followed him too the bunker. All of which are looking at him expectedly and with a small sense of fear in their eyes. Yellow places the kawkaw down on the grassy floor.
then with a click of a lock and a gesture, everybody is heading inside the safe house, murmuring thanks too Yellow as they do, thanking him for the safety, the food, the water, the light.
all thanks he didn’t feel he deserved.
The flower sighed as he headed inside, everyone was probably in the lower levels already as he instructed earlier, part of him hoped atleast one netskie would defy him, just too show him things are the same.
but things aren’t the same, and they never will be again.
Yellow held back tears as he began searching for the padlock he dropped, he’ll lock the door from the outside, reenter through the secret entrance he dug out and fill said entrance back up, a risk of lightners is not a risk he’s willing too take.
He eventually found the padlock, it had been thrown haphazardly on the floor when everyone was rushing in for safety, luckily they hadn’t broken when hitting the floor.
He headed outside of the bunker, closing the door behind him before turning to face it. Yellow clicked the lock in place, attempting to think of a code that the lightners would never figure out, a code that could never be figured out.
‘8-1-0-0’
That should work, The cowboy began setting the code, thinking of all the people currently counting on him, the thought gave him a headache, sure, but he has too push forward, he has too proceed.
click.
click.
click.
cli—
“Look, Kris! another enemy!”
Yellow paled, breath shaky as he turns to whats behind him. A human and a monster, standing there, hand in hand.
The monster’s smile was manic, almost hysterical, a sharp contrast to the human’s blank face. He felt frozen in place, horror filling his body like it was his very own blood.
“Do we have enough TP left over from last battle? It didn’t get turnt into money because of the item we got from the blue flower, remember?”
Blue?
Oh no.
oh god no.
Yellow’s back hit the bunker door, No longer able to think anymore, they had killed Blue, his Blue. All Yellow wanted to do in this moment is run, run away until he collapses.
But he can’t, because everyone in the bunker is counting on him, what kind of justice is it to leave them in the mercy of the people in front of him? Everyone believes in him, as misplaced as that belief is.
“Oh! i just checked! we don’t even have too fight! we have full TP! we can cast it right now!”
Yellow braced himself against the door, an idea in his head. He was going to die here, it was inevitable, but the civilians under his protect don’t have to. If they freeze him, and they will, his body will be practically immovable without Flowery’s help.
His body will become an obstacle, a blockage, karma of their own making. He grabbed the doorframe, covering most of the door apart from some small gaps that almost no one would be able to get through.
He heard the human whisper something too the girl, a prayer, a chant, maybe even a command. Yellow couldn’t tell, and he certainly couldn’t care. The only things on his mind were Blue, his plan and the people dependant on him.
Yellow squeezed his eyes shut, the sound of twinkling snow filled his ears as he gripped the doorframe, biting his tongue to keep himself focused on his goal, a habit he picked up from his time mending his guns.
The twinkling got louder and louder becoming a foul ringing in yellow’s ear, the air got colder, faster.
and then suddenly.
His blood was being frozen, the frozen jagged edges tearing and ripping his through his veins, through his flesh, through his body. His ribcage was enclosed in ice before it collapsed in on it self, the bone piercing all of his internal organs. Yellow’s skin was ripping across his own body, the frost filled his throat to the point that screaming filled it with blood.
It was a constant stream of agony and gore, blood seeping out from every tear in the flower, choking on his own blood before it froze in a large icicle in his mouth. His stomach acid, his tears, his bone marrow, all frozen and turnt into jagged edges forcing their way through him.
But Yellow held onto the door frame, that pain fueled his desire to protect all of the inhabitants behind him, they needed him to do this. for their safety, for their happiness.
For their justice.
It was the last thing Yellow thought before his brain was frozen over too. He was a husk, a corpse, nothing more and nothing less.
but in cruel irony, he was no longer useless. alive: he was nothing, but dead? he was a barrier, a barrier keeping the monster and human away from those who rest within.
Flowery stared at the enclosed body of what was once his little sister, now merely a flower in ice.
— “O…oh.. oh god.”
He gags, the crystal glistens.
Thats why they weren’t answering his calls, While he was attempting to keep asgore happy, all his friends were dying horrifically under the lightner’s wrath.
The tears come before flowery can stop them.
He gently cradles the ice block containing Orange, whispering things he used to say to the young girl. How she was the strongest, how she was the best, the brightest, the bravest.
but now she was just cold.
‘The ice isn’t a good place for a flower’, flowery thinks madly as he sets orange down and begins digging at her icy prison. His fingers grow numb, his head begins to ache, but he must get her out.
and it’ll all be fine.
He’s sure of it.
He’ll get them all out of the ice and nurse them back to health, Flowery will save them, he has too, he will. he’s DETERMINED.
— “Big bro’s here, Ory, He’s here.”
The flower imagines how Orange would cry in in his arms the moment shes out, whine about how cold it was and how great her big bro is for getting her out. Her small body shivering against flowery, seeking out his warmth.
But right now? he needs to keep digging.
Flowery feels like a madman, punching and cracking pure ice until his knuckles bleed, staining the ice an inhuman red.
At some point he bashes his head against it in desperation, more red leaking down.
— “….”
The ice is more red than blue now, Flowery himself is more red than gold now. What cruel irony.
Flowery removes his jacket from over his shoulder, using it to wipe his blood off of Orange, how selfish of him to stain her like that, She’d scream if she woke up covered in blood, especially blood that wasn’t her own.
He drags his jacket-covered hand across the jagged edges of where he had been hitting the ice brutally.
Flowery’s bright red blood is nearly all off, except for this one stubborn stain. No matter how hard he tries to clean it, it remains, it’s as if it had leaked into the ice itself.
Flowery eventually ditches the jacket, scratching at the stain with his nails instead, still nothing.
he wants to scream, loud and desperate.
but he can’t.
it’d scare Orange.
He keeps scratching, the little heart shaped stain driving him mad.
— “Come… on!”
The ice the stain had embedded itself into was being scratched away, but against all odds, the flaw was still there. Flowery gritted his teeth, Hyper focusing on this imperfection.
‘Just keep scratching’ Flowery tells himself ‘It’ll go away with effort. Everything just needs a little effort.’
he remembers Blue telling him something similar once, much more poetic then him. Flowery takes a glance at the ice encased ballerino, Blue would have hated a stubborn stain like this.
Flowery feels warm tears drip down his face pathetically as he thinks of his friends, his friends he had left to be slaughtered like this.
he can’t scratch anymore, Flowery’s hands are shaking too violently. The golden flower hugs Orange again, feeling the cold block against his skin, staining her with even more of his blood and tears.
Flowery slams his forehead into the ice again, hearing the crack of what is either his skull or the ice and as he can still feel himself breath, he’s assuming its the latter.
The flower continues to sob violently into what used to be his little sister, now a dead husk of his love for her, His face covered in tears, blood and snot as he breaks down.
He can feel himself losing HP from his self inflicted wounds, but, frankly, he couldn’t bring himself to care. If he were to die holding his Ory, he’d die happy.
one could almost hear her fading heartbeat, small and gentle as she takes her final breaths, softly crying his and Pink’s names as she does.
Oh Orange.
you were oh so brave, what a shame your light was snuffed out by the raging storm.
Flowery eventually comes to realize he can’t simply sit here and slowly take damage for hours on end. he needed to get up, needed to somehow find a way to get everyone’s corpses out of their snowy graves.
His whole body felt heavy, it was practically a chore to move it but he persisted, forcing himself up and off the ice tomb.
ah.
In his odd funk, his body heat must have warmed up and melted the ice. Leaving what he once thought was a stain, no longer trapped in the ice.
Flowery blinked lazily at it, trying to process what he was even looking at, his bleeding head not doing any part in attempting to help at that. He picked up the small heart-shaped crystal.
It seemed to be a frozen red liquid, though its heart shape was too perfect for it to naturally form without intervention.
* Flowery used CHECK on the red ice heart
‘FROZEN DETERMINATION — The frozen will of those who wish to be avenged given form, The power to decide what is real, The chance to be human.’
‘Though, for vengeance such as yours, one will not be enough. You need MORE, the lightners have taken more than needed, there is no vengeance that they do not deserve.’
Flowery’s breath hitched, rereading what information he was just given again and again, as if something may change if he does so.
but nothing changes, here in his hand is the smallest bit of his little sister’s desire for him to get revenge on those who have wronged her.
and he wonders.
Clutching the gem in his hands, The flower man forced himself to his feet, his legs wobbling due to being crouched for a long while. He allowed himself the grace of letting the blood rush too his legs before hobbling over too the nearest ice block that wasn’t orange.
Yellow.
Flowery placed a gentle hand on the cowboy’s tomb, not wishing to damage it more than needed. He leaned in close, examining the inside of the frosted prison and eventually, he spotted a tiny blob of red inside, the exact same shape and size as the one clutched in his hand.
He rushed over to another, and another, and another.
All of which had that heart shaped gem embedded into its casing, all seven flowers wished to be avenged.
All seven flowers wanted him to save them, to use their will to fuel their revenge.
Flowery looked at the frozen determination, the small, cold and crimson gem glittering from the winter’s sky. It was beautiful, it was powerful.
Flowery stared at the enclosed body of what was once his little sister, now merely a flower in ice.
— “O…oh.. oh god.”
He gags, the crystal glistens.
Thats why they weren’t answering his calls, While he was attempting to keep asgore happy, all his friends were dying horrifically under the lightner’s wrath.
The tears come before flowery can stop them.
He gently cradles the ice block containing Orange, whispering things he used to say to the young girl. How she was the strongest, how she was the best, the brightest, the bravest.
but now she was just cold.
‘The ice isn’t a good place for a flower’, flowery thinks madly as he sets orange down and begins digging at her icy prison. His fingers grow numb, his head begins to ache, but he must get her out.
and it’ll all be fine.
He’s sure of it.
He’ll get them all out of the ice and nurse them back to health, Flowery will save them, he has too, he will. he’s DETERMINED.
— “Big bro’s here, Ory, He’s here.”
The flower imagines how Orange would cry in in his arms the moment shes out, whine about how cold it was and how great her big bro is for getting her out. Her small body shivering against flowery, seeking out his warmth.
But right now? he needs to keep digging.
Flowery feels like a madman, punching and cracking pure ice until his knuckles bleed, staining the ice an inhuman red.
At some point he bashes his head against it in desperation, more red leaking down.
— “….”
The ice is more red than blue now, Flowery himself is more red than gold now. What cruel irony.
Flowery removes his jacket from over his shoulder, using it to wipe his blood off of Orange, how selfish of him to stain her like that, She’d scream if she woke up covered in blood, especially blood that wasn’t her own.
He drags his jacket-covered hand across the jagged edges of where he had been hitting the ice brutally.
Flowery’s bright red blood is nearly all off, except for this one stubborn stain. No matter how hard he tries to clean it, it remains, it’s as if it had leaked into the ice itself.
Flowery eventually ditches the jacket, scratching at the stain with his nails instead, still nothing.
he wants to scream, loud and desperate.
but he can’t.
it’d scare Orange.
He keeps scratching, the little heart shaped stain driving him mad.
— “Come… on!”
The ice the stain had embedded itself into was being scratched away, but against all odds, the flaw was still there. Flowery gritted his teeth, Hyper focusing on this imperfection.
‘Just keep scratching’ Flowery tells himself ‘It’ll go away with effort. Everything just needs a little effort.’
he remembers Blue telling him something similar once, much more poetic then him. Flowery takes a glance at the ice encased ballerino, Blue would have hated a stubborn stain like this.
Flowery feels warm tears drip down his face pathetically as he thinks of his friends, his friends he had left to be slaughtered like this.
he can’t scratch anymore, Flowery’s hands are shaking too violently. The golden flower hugs Orange again, feeling the cold block against his skin, staining her with even more of his blood and tears.
Flowery slams his forehead into the ice again, hearing the crack of what is either his skull or the ice and as he can still feel himself breath, he’s assuming its the latter.
The flower continues to sob violently into what used to be his little sister, now a dead husk of his love for her, His face covered in tears, blood and snot as he breaks down.
He can feel himself losing HP from his self inflicted wounds, but, frankly, he couldn’t bring himself to care. If he were to die holding his Ory, he’d die happy.
one could almost hear her fading heartbeat, small and gentle as she takes her final breaths, softly crying his and Pink’s names as she does.
Oh Orange.
you were oh so brave, what a shame your light was snuffed out by the raging storm.
Flowery eventually comes to realize he can’t simply sit here and slowly take damage for hours on end. he needed to get up, needed to somehow find a way to get everyone’s corpses out of their snowy graves.
His whole body felt heavy, it was practically a chore to move it but he persisted, forcing himself up and off the ice tomb.
ah.
In his odd funk, his body heat must have warmed up and melted the ice. Leaving what he once thought was a stain, no longer trapped in the ice.
Flowery blinked lazily at it, trying to process what he was even looking at, his bleeding head not doing any part in attempting to help at that. He picked up the small heart-shaped crystal.
It seemed to be a frozen red liquid, though its heart shape was too perfect for it to naturally form without intervention.
* Flowery used CHECK on the red ice heart
‘FROZEN DETERMINATION — The frozen will of those who wish to be avenged given form, The power to decide what is real, The chance to be human.’
‘Though, for vengeance such as yours, one will not be enough. You need MORE, the lightners have taken more than needed, there is no vengeance that they do not deserve.’
Flowery’s breath hitched, rereading what information he was just given again and again, as if something may change if he does so.
but nothing changes, here in his hand is the smallest bit of his little sister’s desire for him to get revenge on those who have wronged her.
and he wonders.
Clutching the gem in his hands, The flower man forced himself to his feet, his legs wobbling due to being crouched for a long while. He allowed himself the grace of letting the blood rush too his legs before hobbling over too the nearest ice block that wasn’t orange.
Yellow.
Flowery placed a gentle hand on the cowboy’s tomb, not wishing to damage it more than needed. He leaned in close, examining the inside of the frosted prison and eventually, he spotted a tiny blob of red inside, the exact same shape and size as the one clutched in his hand.
He rushed over to another, and another, and another.
All of which had that heart shaped gem embedded into its casing, all seven flowers wished to be avenged.
All seven flowers wanted him to save them, to use their will to fuel their revenge.
Flowery looked at the frozen determination, the small, cold and crimson gem glittering from the winter’s sky. It was beautiful, it was powerful.