Blacktail Deer Plateau the swelling of broken violins

It was impossible galvanize a soul that was closed off, uninterested in what lay just beyond their familiar sense of melancholy. The unawakened were often addicted to their own person brand of misery, as if the gloom gifted them purpose.  Olive understood the thinking behind this: true happiness was an intimidating paradigm, as it shone a spotlight on the beings’ shortcomings and challenged the person to not only accept, but overcome. It's an act that requires tremendous strength — strength that Olive was not sure even she could summon, should the woman ever have to wrench herself out of the deepest circle of hell. If the eternal macrocosm saw it fit, Olive hoped she would never have to surmount a trial such as the one that unfolded before her. 

But the boy in front of her, was he not the picture of perfect brokenness? Was he a being addicted to his sadness, or had his soul truly been assassinated by life’s contingencies? These questions were difficult for Olive to answer, as he kept his words well guarded and he shielded the details of his story with an aegis of crucifixion. Perhaps it mattered not, as the boy’s verity was not hers to claim. His secrets would remain his own for as long as he would keep them… and for that tenure, Olive desired nothing more than to be his most egalitarian shepherd.

And then the golden tempest’s tone downshifted and the poisonous lace that fringed his words unraveled [albeit slowly] as it fell from between his lips. The perfumed seraph’s ears slid from their dwelling against her skull and assumed a relaxed position. If this boy labored to change his tone [for her sake, most likely], then she would do the same for him. Noting a further change in his posture, the perfumed seraph sidled up next to him. Her rose-stained tongue parted her ashen maw and licked his shoulder encouragingly, smoothing a small part of his haggard pelt. Not wanting to startle him with [what could be] an unwelcome touch, Olive pulled herself back slightly and whispered softly to him.

“What’s your name?”