#wysp thinks

[vessel-wysp]

*Large Wysp makes her way through tunnels, struggling to fit in small spaces. She tries her best to keep out of the way, but is clumsy an unagile, her needle rendered near useless, being the length of one of her horns. Eventually she trips, and gets herself stuck, legs pushing futilely as she is wedged pretty firmly where she is.

"̵̧̬͕͖͗̄̌̄̾̚͝W̵̞̦̞͙͇͝͝h̸̛̝̎̏̀̇̾͊y̴̹͗.̵̨̛̼͕̋͊̒̍͛̀̋.̴̥̱̪̖̠̳̼̅̎́.̷̢̥̗͍̤̹̬̦̿ ̵̡̠̞̟͖͎̯̀̀̑͂͒͗̇͘Ś̶̲̹̟ȍ̴̰͖͂̈́͛̒̊̾͆m̷̯̣̫̹͙̤̿͒͜ẽ̵̪͕̪̘͊̈͜ȏ̶͜n̷͕͓̘͎̔̇͛̿̌̊e̴̢̪̞̙̻̮̋ ̶̢̡̢̛̲̩̦̎̄͒ĥ̶̘̫̔̃̋̔̾ͅe̶̛͙̦̖͂͂̽̐͜l̷̼͇͈̜̓̈́͂̿p̸̮̲͖̑͋?̸̺͇͙̤̹̬͓́̓̾̇͠ ̶̢̨̢̬̤̮̭̍̅̀̍̑̔͒͜P̵̹̫͕̪̘͉̦͛͒l̵̼͊̏̋̋ȩ̴̱͈̓a̷̤̥͔͍͍̝̐̊͗ͅs̵̡̮̈́̒͜e̵̖̥͔̦̞̞̅͒̐̃̓͝.̶͓̣̼̅.̷̛̗̈̈́͋̌.̵̟͔̀̎̓?̴̧̘̭̲̫̤̱̫̏̆̓̀̐́̚͝

Pʀᴏᴠᴇ ᴍʏsᴇʟғ…? I ᴄᴀɴ'ᴛ ᴇᴠᴇɴ ᴅᴏ ᴛʜᴀᴛ. I ᴄᴀɴ'ᴛ sʟᴀʏ ᴀ ʙᴇᴀsᴛ, I ᴄᴀɴ'ᴛ ғɪɴᴅ sᴏᴍᴇᴏɴᴇ ᴛᴏ ɢɪᴠᴇ ᴍᴇ ᴀ ᴛᴀsᴋ, I ᴄᴀɴ'ᴛ ᴇᴠᴇɴ ᴋᴇᴇᴘ ᴍʏsᴇʟғ ᴏᴜᴛ ᴏғ ᴘʀᴏʙʟᴇᴍs. Wʜʏ ᴀᴍ I ᴇᴠᴇɴ… ᴛʀʏɪɴɢ.

I ɢᴜᴇss I ʀᴇᴀʟʟʏ ᴀᴍ ʙʀᴏᴋᴇɴ. Uɴᴘᴜʀᴇ. Nᴏ ᴡᴀʏ ᴛᴏ ʙᴇ ғɪxᴇᴅ.

*The void rolls down her mask and she makes a laughing, sobbing sound, her thoughts echoing, the world fuzzing in and out.*

I ʀᴇᴀʟʟʏ ʜᴀᴠᴇ ʀᴇᴀᴄʜᴇᴅ ᴍʏ ʟᴏᴡᴇsᴛ, ʜᴜʜ? Nᴏᴛʜɪɴɢ ʟᴇғᴛ ᴛᴏ ᴅᴏ.

*She closes her eyes, hanging her head, still and quiet, and sighs.*

[vessel-wysp]

As young Wysp kneels, crying on the floor, shadows creep out from the corners and envelope her, then recede to a new scene. The air rushes past her horns as near current Wysp urges her stag faster, down tunnels and up slopes. Tears threaten to spill at the corners of her vision, a letter clutched in one hand with the reins. She wipes them away, one thought echoing through her head.

'No. I have to see them.'

The time stretches on like the paths, shadows in the corners of her vision, then suddenly the gray turns to green, and she's launching herself off her mount, stumbling over to the green moth.

"Please Ven, please let me see them. Please tell me they're not gone."

"I'm sorry Wysp."

The rest of the moth's words fall deaf as everything in Wysp cries out, sorrow and guilt forming around her soul. Then, she begins moving towards where Ven is pointing.

'Wait, this isn't how it happened!' She cries out internally. But her memory body doesn't listen. She stumbles forward through the greenery as shadows creep up beside her, darkening the verdant leaves. Around a bend, she sees it. Unmoving. In a pool of grey and their own void. She collapses in front of it, her heart feeling like it's been stabbed.

"No! No no no no! NO!"

The shadows enclose her and Pane's memory body in darkness, and she can barely see the mask and fluff lined cloak of her sibling. The only sound is her gasping and the rustling of her clothes, until movement in the dark causes her head to snap up, void streaming down her mask.

Then it moves.

Pane's body rises disjointedly and looks up at her, controlled by Pane's shade. Pane's voice echoes from the space around.

"You didn't protect me. You're worthless! You couldn't keep me safe! I don't need you anymore! I have so many others to turn to anyways… Why would I need one pathetic excuse for a sibling?"

Slowly the voice turns twisted and piercing. Wysp's sobs turn to growls and she lunges at the formless shape. It laughs as her hands encircle its neck and its head reveals itself as Wysp's. They float in the darkness, Wysp grappling the shade.

Slowly, it seems to melt, incorporating into Wysp's shade like form. The words of torment turn to one harsh phrase, over and over.

PROVE MYSELF.

With a gasp, Wysp wakes up, the cave where she went under empty. She kneels as void drips off her wings, tail, and mask.

PROVE MYSELF.

The phrase echoes inside her, and she slowly rises to her feet.

"̷̲̼̀͆̓͒̈́̔͝I̵͙̼͕͖͙̲̜̫̽̏̚'̵̨̹̰̭̲̈́l̷͎͆̿̄͗̉̈́͗͂̍̀̾̒̎͘l̵̛̛͇͎̰͇̞͈̜̇͘ ̷̨̡͖͉̹̥̖̼̞̋͗̐s̵̛̟̥̬͍̠̟̲̪̊͗̃̂̆̍͒̎͗̅̄͠ͅh̴̡͇̫̝̳̳̹͙̃͂͌o̵̲̒́͠ẅ̴̼͚́͋̆̑͐̏͒̃͐ ̷̭͖̭̟̦̭̬̌̒͊t̶̪̥͓̬̒̾ͅḧ̶̡̹̦̻͍̘́̓̆̎̌̃̃̽͊̊̓͋͝͝e̷̛̝̞̺̫̥͔̞̼̤̳͇͒̓̿͂̍̑͆̽͛̋̎̚͝m̷̨̡̡̢̨͔͎͉̦̻̖̥͍̻̎…̸̨̰̀̅̎̅̀̀̾̐̄͝ ̸͔͉͆͋͒̓̏̌͝I̷͖͌̿̌̅̅͆̓̈̈́͘͘͝͝͝'̶̢̦̙͓̹͚̬̬̽͒̀m̸̢͍̙͉̮̽́̑̏ͅ ̶̲͚̄͗̐̃̉͘ͅn̶̢̢̪̙̦̘͓͇̹̙̭͆̈̃̆͘ò̷̯̞̩͚̄͗̕t̵̹̙̉̓̂̈́̔̄͘͠ ̷̡̢̨̨̲͙̙̻̜̪̬̠̼͐̈́̽̊͊͌͊̅̆ǘ̶̻̝̳̮͖̺̙̦̘̓̇̅̀̂̈̕s̸̥͕̮͍̺͓̽̀͂̍̌́͋̂̿͆̍́̀̉̕e̵̟̱̯̖͍̺̟̊̈́̀͌̎̓͑̐̌̉̌l̶̠̖̣̘̃͂̀̆͝e̴̢̧̘̺̮͇̺̯͂̒͜͜͝s̷̢̖̥͔̩̳̜̑͛̎͑̂͌͋̇̀s̶̢̖̪͙̣͔̟̪̳̲͇̱̞̲̠̆̒͗̽͐͗.̶̟͙̪̩̭̦̯̳̘͉̫̮̆͛̔͂̂͐̆͘͠ͅ ̸͖̲͖̱̪͕͉͊̅̐͜Ȉ̸̢͙͙̫́̐̌̓̋̈́̍̂̾̄͋͌̀̐ͅ'̵̳̪̟̼̹͎̿̐̏́ĺ̷̮̮̝͕́̀͒̉̏̈́̂̾͑́͊͌͝͠l̸͕͈͈̹̤̖̱̖͎̓ ̷̡̗͇̻̥̣̗̰͔̘̣͗́n̶̠͂̔͑͝͠e̸̖̰̹͔̝̙͓̥̼̗̻͕̎͊̑v̶̨̲͙̯͙̩̣̱̼͊͛̂̏̕͠͠e̶͇̼͈͈̞̅̊̋̐́̃̊̕͝͠͝r̴̢͎͈̺̦̼͉̊̽́̋̿͋̊ ̸̫̔͑́̒͑͑͗̈́̅̊͑́̕b̵͓̯̾̊͐̇͛̏̕͝͠ę̷̧̖̻̲̜̝̼̪͉͈͙͓̮͋̈͆́̂͗̚ ̷̡̧̨̼͉͉̜̜̦̼̼͓̯̝̿̈f̶̼̟̃̋̌̈̃̒͑͗͘͝o̴͈͉̳̖̊́ͅͅr̴̘̄̾̒͝ͅg̷̣͖͚͕̣̞̲̜̔͋o̷̠̞̘̥͇̪̘̬͓̩̪̦̝̖̓̌̒͂̏̎̉̍̉̏͒́͠ţ̸̨̘̭͔̻̩̯̠̟̬̠͛͂̃ț̷̨̳̲͚̩̘̉̈́͐͝ę̸̢͉̱̫͇̙̗̪͍̩̦̟̓̈͊́̅͗͒̿̂͂̽̚͝ͅṇ̷̌̒̓͐̿͒͒̔͛͘.̷̘̰͖̮̮̘̞̫̤̩͍̩͌̈́̓ ̸̧̯̝͔̯͇͉̞̤̩͎̊̈̓͛͐̓͌̔̓̕͜Ḯ̵̼̯͛̉̐͌̏̚ ̷̡̺̲̦̗̤̟͖̱̮̣͍̓̋Ẃ̶̢͖̙̜̙̆̎̈́͐́̎̑̑͆̅̄̈́̿I̷̮̮̮͓̝͖̲̦̘̳̖̞̠͍̺͒̉́͂̊͘L̶̢̢̝̭̲̹̼̩̥̋̑̐̀́̒́̈̾̈́̊̃̕L̴̗̻͍̘͌̉ ̸̧͎̝̯̻͉͍̻̩̞̼̗͈̹͖̀͆͂͐̉̄̍B̶̯̋̌͗̀̏́́̌̓͝͝E̷̡̬̜͇̞̖̬͉̹͉̹̼͛̒̋̄̒̆̾͑̂̊͆͘͝ ̶̜͙̰̜͈̟̇̈̌͝Ṿ̴́͗́̃́̊̅̐̓̍̚A̴̛̦̻̰͚͚̓̌͑́̐͆͐̆̿́̆̏̈͠L̵̡̖̼̗̖͔̟̗͙͎̞̙̫͊̆̈Ȕ̴̡͍͉͂̍̈́Ḙ̶̗̳͍̜͉̙͈̰̓̈́͝Ḑ̸̝̹̩̰͈̗̣̖̝̳̎́̈́̅͑͊́͛̀̕ͅ!̷͚͕̝̭̻̮̘̻͉̟̫̥̟͛͘͝ ̶̱̩̘̪̯̻̱̟͓̇͆̂͘͜Į̴̛͍̥̑̉̌͒̂̈́͊̎̐͑͋̿̓̕ ̶̹̦̪͂͒͑̆́̈́̀̀́W̷̤̯͆̅̕Í̵̡̛̼̪̮̝̤͕̤̘͓͕̹̲̒̒̀͘Ļ̷̖͑͝ͅL̴̨̥̜̭̥͎͍͚͓͍̅ ̶̩̯͇̫͈̻̬̮̠̰͎̖̯͇̉̀̎̌̒̍̃́͂̌̄̎̓P̴̬̿͊͗̃́̇̌͑R̸̡̛̩̠̲͇̻͎͇̠̘̤̩̟̳̅̉̀͂̅̋̊͐̒͋͊̕̚Ȏ̷̰͉̖̮͚͎̪͙͚͍͖̭̊̀̏̒͊V̶͈̳̫͕̥̠̬̑̒͋̀̃͛̈́̋̐E̷͔̯̙̖̞̭̪̻͙̜̝̙̫̔̾̓̊͛͊̏̏̅̉̀̍͋͠ͅ ̷̧̤̟̙̤̳̩͙̭̬̬̞̳͎͔͊̅̆̈́̊͋͘͠͠͝M̷̖͚̲̘̙͚̟̥̯̤̥̱͙̈́̈̓̀Y̴̰̺͎̬̯̜̝̖̺̦̣̯̤͖̻̌̐̾̅͐̽͠S̴͕̊̈́̅̈́̀ͅȨ̶̢͎̙͓̻̟̦̻̾̑́͊L̸̡͓̺̲̻͈͇̳̚͜F̷͚̭̥̙̬̞͚̾́̀̾̓̂͂̓̈́͜͝!̵̡͔̩̻͓̪͉͈̖͒̈́̈́́̑̂̽͂̓́̅͘͜͝"̴̧̡̡͙̹̤̲̹̯͙͔͒

Her words echo through the cave followed by broken, insane laughter.

[vessel-wysp]

As tiny Wysp looks up at where the Pale King was, the dark shape appears and pushes her roughly through the floor. Before she can even react, she lands on cold stone. She's a little taller and much older, like when she first climbed out of the abyss.

Her cloak trails behind her as she walks happily into one of the largest caverns, coming face to face with large, dark, armored coils. She purr calls, dashing up to where she knows the Blackwyrm's head is. Her hands sign rapidly, but there is no movement from her adopted father. After a moment, her heart plummets, and she makes a scared sound.

Nothing.

Every bit of panic becomes paramount in her chest as she tries to embrace the Wyrm, tries to get him to hug her back, shaking him, crying out her first broken words. Nothing but a blaze inside his body answers her sobs as tears run down her face, and she's all alone.

As she's always deserved to be. She's nothing more than a helpless vessel who'll die alone. Abandoned and useless again.

"̷̢̭̟̘͙͎̹̻̣͚̙͕̲̻̳̉̽͋̐̽͒̾̿T̶͖̤̭̖̥̆̇̆̿̽͌̚͘͝͠ͅH̵̛͍̺̯̯̒͑̃̑̎̇͑͊̂̕Ả̶̞͎̭̟͚̘͈͐̎̎̽̒̉̚͠͠Ṯ̶̫͉͙̖͙̟͍̫̖͖̆́͊̀̌̎̎͛͌̑́̄̐̚̚͜S̶̨̞͖̝͖͓͕̊̃̑͊̀͑̍̃̇̀͋͋̊̾͑͜ ̷̢̛̫̳̙̮̳͙̺̖̻͋͂̾̂͌̇̒̑̓̓͗̉̚͜N̸̤̗͎̙̺͈̰̮̱͔̓̀̋Ô̸͖̹̪̞̐͊͂͛͌̊̍̂͆͗ͅT̴̨͔̠̱̙́̇̀̀͂͋ ̸͖͕̩͖͙̦̓͆͂̃̊͂̃͊͘W̴͉͈͋̈́̆̊͛͝H̶̰̝̳͇̹͉̥͕̎͛̎͐̀͠Ĕ̵̡͗Ṛ̷̡̯̽̅͜È̴̛͙̝̱̟̖͊́͛͋͐̒̿̏͐̚̕͝ ̸̞͖̩͈͚̞͚̰̈́̀̔̽͐Į̷̠̜̕Ṭ̴̡̨̨̩̪̘̣̪̯͌̽̌̆̆́̈̓̋͂͐ ̸̻̙̳̀̋͒̈͊͒͂̾̿͑̈́̚͠͝E̶̱͉̘͉͖̰̰͇̹͎͈͓̍́́̍̇͋̉ͅͅŅ̶̤̙͔͓̳̲̆̉̓́́̽̉͐̍́͛̚D̴̥̗̦̞̳̟̑͌̏̕Ę̴͕̣͔͕̦͓̝̥͓̝̫͕̈̉͊̈́̀̓̐̑̚͜͝͝͠Ḓ̷̖͈̗̺̺̬̯̲̫̖̲̄̆̄̾͗̈́͋̐͘͠ ̷̲̱͖̹̗̃̇͊̾͗̾̌̓͋͊͝D̸͍̖̳͚͎̣̺̪̩̀͗̌̎͐A̶̧͉͓̩͇̲͋́̒̽̒̒̓̓͒͑̕D̷̨̜̃ ̵̟̳̞̗͔͎̋̿D̶̙̠̲͚̹̹̟͆͂͑̏̓͝O̵̧̡̟̞͔̯͇͎̅̄̊̈́͒̅͘͝͝ͅͅE̷͙͛̏͗̋̚Ş̴̹̣͉͇̗̩̩͓̙̃̾̅̽̇̂͝ ̷̟̰̯͉̩̗̬̅̂͗͒͛̔́ͅḼ̷̢̛͔̥̜͍̀͊̅̍̃̽̆͋̍̏̉̊͘͘Ǫ̶̠̮̹͈̠͚͍͈͉̖̏̄̚͜͠V̷̝̘̀͑̏́͗̈́̑̔̉͌̓̕̚͝Ḛ̸͔͇͔̰͚͐̽ͅͅ ̸̣̝̰̬̣̙̳̞͉̩̭̥̦̊̋́̈́͂̎̚M̶̨̢̡̧͚̯̥̙̠̜̫̪̗̈́̄́̇͊͊͂̿̚͠Ė̴̡̖̥̗̞̲̔̔̍̅!̴̛͚̠͕̖̖͇̔̌̐̐̉̐̃̇̆͜ ̷͓̥̠̺̮̯̣̓͌̾͛̅̀̅͊̏̇̒̚͝͝͝Ī̷̧̡̤̰͉̳̼͇̤̹̩̠̪̈́̈́͑̊̇̈́́̈́͌̕̚̕ ̶̢̛͈̫̙͚̹̩͉̥̣̆̍̊̈́̈́͒͂̑̿͋̈́̚͠W̷̧͍̤̜̓͗̿͑̑̍͑̂͝Ǐ̶͍̫̘̭̼̤̣̤̰̭̘̰̊Ļ̶̣͔̰͙̼̣̠͚̞̘̫̦̊̽̃L̶̢̘͎̬̱̗̙̺̔̒̏́̍͋͒̕ ̴̛̞̰̖͆̃Ň̸̯̥͍͙͔̘̙͕̠̮̽̕O̴͕̭̹̭͇̼͊̉͜T̵̡̛̤͍̝̅̅̉̊͠ ̶̡̛̼̙̲̝̤̱̜͍̝̹͙͚̫̈́̋̓́̆̾́̚D̶͔̲͚͌̄̄͂̾̋̽̀̚͝Ȋ̷̡̧̢̭̺̫̭̤̼͓̼̖͈͐̉̑̒̅̍̓͐E̵̯͚͊̎̋̌̍͝ ̸̧̨̢͔̭͉̜̱̞̙̲̱̌̔̈͂̿̂̏̌͝͝Ä̶̩̼́͊̂̐̌̈́̍̑͌͌̊̚͝͠L̶̛͔̰̹̱͚̠͗̈́̑̀̇́͂̒Ỏ̶̦͙̞̣͖͎̮̦̊̒̅̓̈́̿͋́̓̅̌̓̚͘͜N̷̡̫͈̙̭͍̺̳̫̼͛͆͆͆̒̚͝͝͠ͅͅͅË̸̛̘͍̲͉̙̊͑̿͒̆͊̄̕͝ͅ,̶̨͈͔̫̭͓̖͚͔̺̣̋͑̇̿̀́̚͠ͅ ̴̛̩̲̒̋̿̾̑͛̊̂͆Ņ̵̱̮͉͉̞̝̫̼̜̟̀̍̆͑Ờ̵̼͍̭̹̄̄̋́̏͆̿̍̽͘͘͝͝!̸̢̲̘͉͇̍̃̉̄͒̔̂͊̇ͅ"̵͉̗̹̠̰̃̎͒̌͐̒̏̈́̀̕

Then where is he now...?

[vessel-wysp]

Deep within her own mind, Wysp thrashes with a dark, formless shape, that shouts everything she doubts about herself at her. Then, as she grapples with it, it seizes one of her most repressed memories and shoves her into it.

Her tiny frame walks beside him, reaching to hold his hand but finding no acceptence. She's quiet, not knowing how to speak or sign, but looking up at the bug in a trusting way that asks, where are we going? Nothing.

Soon, they reach the mouth of a cavern and step inside onto a platform far above a deep darkness.

"Enter the Abyss, vessel."

She squeaks, fear filling her, and she backs up to him, looking for comfort. He nudges her away, but sighs, looking down at her.

"This is only for now. I'll come back to get you." There's an unspoken condition in his voice, but she's too young to understand. She whimpers one last time, then squeezes her eyes shut and jumps in.

She's falling for so long, then lands on a jagged floor, hard. She cries out, whimpering, then slowly sits up, looking for her father far above. He looks down at her, mask without emotion, and she squeaks.

Then, he turns and leaves, taking the light with him.

And she never sees him again.

What a worthless creature.

"Ņ̷̯̮̱̠̖͔̑̃̈́̆̚o̶̪̻͈͇̹̬̔̓̌̿̏͝ͅ.̷̣͍͍͕͈̗̔̐͑͠ͅ.̵̡̦̳̅̔͑͑̒̈͛̓͘͜.̷̖̳̳̯̳̭͎͐ ̷̨̛̻̻͚̰̻͈͂͒͆͝͝Ḯ̵̧̹̺̦̅̋̀̀̏'̸̣̩̍̑̍̀̌̅̍͑͐̕ļ̵̟̼̗̖͖̜̙̰̘́̈̊̇ľ̶̢ ̵̢̙̬̜̪̦͓͍̭̯̂̐p̸̨̯̜̙̗̍͑̌̀̒̑̿r̸̢̧̧̨̮̼͔̦͍̊̀̅o̸̢̫͍̺͑̅̌̅̊̑͂͒̕͠v̸̨̬̼̪̪̅̽̀̓̕ḙ̸̬͍̳͑̓̑͗̄̈́̉͋ ̵̞͖͆̽̚͠͝y̶̧̘̮̝͈̬̝̱̣̮̆̈́̃̕͠o̷͍̬̤͚̹̻̮͈͍͗́̋͛̈͜ǘ̴͕̙̭͇̰̟͔͛̍͜ ̸̼̜̾͛̊́̅w̷̡̫̬̝̣̩̣̬̼͗̆̈́̃̈̈́̓́̚ͅr̴̹̳̬͇̦͈͍̥̍͆̈͛̒̆̈́ò̴̤͍͙͇̥̻̋̽͂̃́̒̀ṇ̸̢̱̹̺̰̦͇̽̕͜ĝ̴͚͐̊̐̚.̵̡̖͇̠̭͖̼̰͙̽.̷̧̭̠͈̹̰͛̏̾̽̏̆̃͒̕̚͜ͅ.̶͉͇̣̯̄̏͝"

{I've gots to feed you while I prepare for the true action don't I? Enjoy my little doodle. :P.

Alt text vers. and just them vers.}

[vessel-wysp]

The words of her mind fly through her head as she cries.

Not good enough.

Never loved.

They want you gone.

You should have stayed in the void.

Pathetic.

Never right.

Deserve to be mocked.

Worthless.

A failure.

Forgettable.

Needy.

A waste of space.

Cast out for a reason.

Her scream is filled with so much pain, the fears and emotions of 250 years coming out. Soul rips through the world around her, void roils up from the ground, and tears run down her mask. After getting hit by a few small stones, her stag turns tail and runs, Wysp's bag and smaller cloak still strapped to his saddle. Then, Wysp roars, and everything goes black.

[vessel-wysp]

*Her shell having hardened, the teenaged vessel starts to pack for a trip. She makes sure she has food, and wraps her legs and arms in a fuzzy cloth. Her cloaks are accompanied by a sort of fuzzy armor.*

"Hm. Time to climb Mount Fay. The mask maker awaits!"

[vessel-wysp]

*Wysp carries a gift to a new face she's never seen. Dressed in red and green with a festive snowmoon hat, she gives the gift to @masterofthistroupe !

@santaofthesnails

She musters her strength and cheerily shouts in voidspeak,

"MERRY SNOWMOON!!!"

[vessel-wysp]

*As she meets others throughout her travels, Wysp feels something a change in two directions. It scares her, the implications of what it mean. A ripple of black meeting pale. She trembles, a single void tear running down out of her wide, frightened eyes.*