[Why? Why did she have to mention the stupid pie!? Who cared about a... no, she was doing her own deflecting. She felt raw, stretched so thinly like she would vanish into a little wisp of light, but she had to piece it together, one at a time. Focus on his voice... focus on the fact that you have sensation again. She could remember the earlier kiss. This one helped to remind her.

She slowly released her grip, eased her clench into open palms. The... the outfit really does look handsome on him.

...Deflecting again.]

I went to check on it, and the light flew in. Hit my chest. Burned. I started feeling numb for a day or so, but then it was like sitting in a chair in a pitch black room, watching everything on the surface of a very tiny mirror.

I watched myself... burn everything... I ruined everything in my kitchen...

I don't know whether it did it to get to me or that the thing didn't know what to do about any of it. But it kept feeding on... on me. Everything good. Thoughts of you. Those were its favorite... all while it replayed my dreams over and over. It kept asking me what the ravens were, what the clouds were.

It thought it was interesting that I'd have a dream where... where the ravens had gotten you, too...