Protect me, Val thinks. It was times like this when that scarf came in handy. Inside it, she feels warm. She can see the petal of the iris sewn to the inside of the scarf. She loves looking at it. It helps calm her down.

“Val,” Yuri says, “Listen to me.” Yuri takes her hand off Val's shoulder. She places her hands on her knees and looks down, then towards Val. “I was a bit aggressive there. I’m sorry.” Val lowers her scarf, so only her eyes are peering out. “I’m sorry for being pushy. I was lashing out. I’m self-conscious of other people’s opinions about my work, and that stressed me out, and then I lashed out. I’m sorry.”

Val lowers her scarf all the way. “It’s fine.” She says. It was best to move past this than let it weigh heavy.

“It’s just,” Yuri says, “I was worried, seeing you out here all alone. That’s all. Your parents must be worried, too.”

My parents, Val thinks. She starts to shake. Her heart begins to race. Her breathing becomes labored once more. The thought of her parents--her mother--sent her brain into a frenzy. Anxiety boiled, bubbled, and spilled over. Val pulls the scarf over her head again frantically. Could her mother still be looking for her? Had those fliers made it all the way out here as well? The scarf was warm, too warm. It was oppressively hot. She looks at the iris petal. Hope. Hope that this won’t happen again. Hope that she can find a place to fit in. Hope that she’ll be alright.

Hopeless.

“Hey, is everything alright? You’re acting strange--” Yuri asks, but can’t finish her sentence. Val falls off of the couch, limp to the ground. “Val!” Yuri gets down on the ground and places her hands on Val. She is still breathing, her heart is still beating too. Yuri sighs with relief. While looking at Val, about to pick her up and place her on the couch again, she notices a rip in the back of Val’s shirt. There’s a dark mark on her back. Yuri touches it. It feels cold, dry, and rough. She lifts Val's shirt and sees that the mark spreads across most of her back. The shape, it seems purposeful. It reminds Yuri of a letter, but not one that’s part of any alphabet she knows. The mark seems to be a large scab, but Yuri does not know how Val managed to get this big and specific of an injury. Suddenly, the scab starts bleeding. Yuri worries that she had accidently picked it, but it became obvious that was not the case. The scab becomes warm and the blood rushes down her back faster and faster with increasing force, like a waterfall. The blood sputters out, and splashes onto Yuri’s face. It scalds her, and she rushes to wipe it off. She swiftly backs away from Val. Val’s scarf unravels from her neck, and starts to wave in the wind--was it even windy before?--like a banner.

Yuri has pushed Val. Yuri is a waterfall.

From Val’s back, a shadow emerges. A shadow darker than the deep night’s sky. It has no volume but endless form. It makes no sound but you can hear it. It can not feel, but you can feel it. It is the darkest of creatures. It is an unfathomable menace. It is warm.