Thunder Dome one of many hiccups

The other's presence is like a balm, soothing away the fog in her mind. She looks to her comrade with growing clarity, still unsure of how to suppress the girl's mounting concerns. Varinril swallows thickly. A different kind of fear swells within her, heart thrumming in her breast. Lowering her crown, she looks out over all creation, expression growing forlorn. She opens and closes her mouth once, twice, before the confession spills from her lips.

"Someone...took something from me when I was very young." The words felt and tasted of lead. Heavy, suffocating. Sharply, she looks away. Would this hurt ever heal, she wondered. "That's why I don't trust males. Don't want them near me." She paused, blinking. That part made her feel a little better to reveal.

"Felt trapped back there. I couldn't - I couldn't do anything."

Her words teetered on blubbering. The spit in her mouth burned, her eyes burned, everything burned. Varinril grew still again, eyes losing their focus. Seconds ticked on by. Then she turned to look at Mallaidh. No, not at, but into. Emotion welled within her, both naked and rough like waves within a storming sea. The intensity of it may very well repel Mallaidh, but this mixture of depression, upset, pity, hate was aimed at no one but herself.

She was not able to do anything back then and she was unable to do anything now.