You can feel Tephra shake at your stinging insult. "I didn't…I guess you're right," she says. "It's part of what made coming back home so difficult. I knew I'd have to face you, how I treated you before." She lowers her voice to a choking whisper. "I'm sorry."
Flynn contorts his throat, doing his best to suppress a deep cough as he reaches out to comfort Tephra.
Tephra turns around to Flynn's encouraging, if somewhat sickly, grin, and grabs him up. She presses his bony frame against her chest, as though she believes that the more surface contact she can create between them, the better she'll feel. It's raw and awkward to watch, and you move to leave. Almost as an afterthought, she addresses you one last time: "I'd like to decompress, if you don't mind."
You almost can't oblige her fast enough, and even as you swim down the corridors, the experience starts to fade into the surreal.
Now You're Just Alone