Fiona finds herself utterly transfixed by the sight of Raven. The
more she looks at him, the more she sees: man in overalls, black
bird, something dark and unnameable, a skull. Blood drips from his
fingers, flames lap at his legs, the screams of untold lives engulf
him. She finds she can't bare to look at him, but can't force
herself to turn away.
She hears the crash of crockery breaking, followed by the harsh
slapping noise of skin meeting skin in anger, which distracts her
enough to pull her eyes away. She fixes her sight on a chair almost
right in front of her, surrounded by the ghost of a tree, a rainbow
of pastel tints shrouding its leaves. Another chair carries similar
echoes, as does a table.
Around her, harsh words are exchanged between faces she's too anxious
to look at, while tension thickens the air as it mounts. Her nausea
still rolls through her in crippling waves, turning her stomach
inside out. She barely hears Mary ask about the dwarves, but she
manages to respond, hopefully setting Mary's fears to rest.
It's not until she hears Strauss' voice, soothing and unctuous, that
she starts to get a grip on the world around her.
