“At the time, nothing; but that’s not what I asked, is it?” I drank from the glass in my hand a draft of sweet, peach flavored liquor. My guest’s divine presence wavered from the painful memories I had stirred, that defensive nihility cloak flaring like an old wound I continued to prod. “I’ll not put the burden of planning on someone who has already suffered plenty of her own accord. All I want is to understand your intent. What you would do if anything was possible?”

At that moment, David slid Shiloh a bonfire on my command. The amber liquid glowed warmly under her gaze, a welcoming spirit to ease the soul. “Drink up,” I told her while swirling my own refreshment. “It might help you break through some of that nihility you’ve draped yourself in since you arrived.”

Her fingers wrapped around the warm glass with a squeeze. Staring into the still amber, the faint perfume of floral honey invited her to drink. Shiloh shut her eyes and threw her head back as she emptied it in one shot. A wave of soothing nectar hit her tongue and swept down her throat. As the drained glass was set down with a clink, she waited for the acrid sting of liquor or a burning aftertaste. Instead, there was none. 



The smell of pine and soil filled her nose as patches of sunlight filtered through the leaves. Dry mulch and twigs crunched beneath her shoes as she tailed a broad back high as a wall and coarse like marlstone. The moving boulder stopped and turned, reaching out a hand many times larger than her own. As her hand reached out, she was carefully lifted up and placed on the shoulders of the mountain troll. "Come on, wee beastie–we're almost there." The low rumble of Unna's voice reverberated through her body as she clung close to the back of the troll-mother's head. That warmth lingered as the dream faded, leaving her with her thoughts.

If she had a chance, if something like that was really possible… "I would go back. I would try to survive as long as I can, no matter what–so I can see them all again and tell them I'm coming home." Because everything she had ever done had always been for them. Whether her own life was destined to be cut short or not, they shouldn't be kept waiting for an answer that would never arrive. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, but endless waiting would turn that love into torture. Having an answer was the least she could give them to put those questions to rest. And if she would never make it back, then they deserved to know.