Redhawk Caldera then you'd love me, love me.

And just like that, the proverbial dam broke. An onslaught of words rushed out of Finley, more than she had spoken in weeks. Elwood was taken aback at first simply by the sound of her voice, but he soon honed in on what she was saying, deciphering her sentences as her voice began to shake.

She admitted that it hadn't been as accidental as it had seemed. She had made the decision to stay away from the caldera for longer than anticipated. These facts rang in Elwood's ears as he digested them, finding it hard to comprehend even though it all seemed to make sense. He wasn't quite sure how to feel; was he supposed to be angry at her? Or forgive her for coming clean? How would they move forward from this?

By this point, Finley was slumped in front of Elwood, but he hadn't moved to comfort her. He realized that he was trembling slightly, though he couldn't be sure if it was with fury or fear. "Why didn't you tell me?" he whispered, his ears tilting back against his head. He stared hard at the grass between himself and Finley. "If you were having such a hard time with him -- you could have talked to me. I could have tried to help." But you didn't, and you made it worse, he wanted to add, but bit his tongue.