Phantom Hollow here i found no self control

She had stripped herself of sadness. Left it behind in the prairie, rooted to where she had curled up and slept. It was a sense that persisted despite her best efforts but Ibis refused to acknowledge it; this was easier to do with the warmth in her skin, this yearning for contact which was thoroughly distracting. It would have been safer - and smarter - to linger where the travelling band had been allocated within Kaistleoki. Something about being around all of those people at once was off-putting, though. The forest was nearly empty when she arrived to it; the cold shadows painting dappled shapes across her pale body as she roamed through them, but this did not temper the sensations she had woken up with.

Was she sick? Ibis did not know what sort of ailment would cause her to feel feverish like this. She told herself it was better she be alone now, in case she was carrying something awful that could spread - social distancing and all of that - unaware that her body was going through a hormonal transformation and nothing more. Oh, if only her mothers were here. If only Lily were here too, to help her through this.

As if manifesting the great desires within her mind, there came a drifting shadow. It wasn't masculine nor feminine at first glance, but dark, and it called out with a sweet voice that caught in Ibis' ears and made her chest hurt. As she had been idly thinking of her deceased caretaker, to be confronted by a shape and a voice so similar (especially in her current state) was beyond confusing. She knew in her heart it was not Lily; yet she sought out that voice all the same, and emerged just as a second arrived. This other figure she recognized immediately as Mal — but it was too late, Ibis couldn't reverse course now that she was exposed.