She declines his invitation although she acknowledges his beckoning motions with a smoky look that is more of turmoil than any superciliousness. Does physical closeness equate emotional solidarity? — is she any nearer to him now than if they were poles apart? The proverb reads We die alone, and it is reversible: all thinking creatures are barred from one another's experience like solitary inmates in the Panopticon of existence. If one can sense but their own mind it is accurate to conclude that we live alone, as well.

She sneaks a tentative glance at Venom when he, to her understanding, identifies his small bed mate as a woman. She is wary of classifications yet her mannerisms are those of the opposite gender, coupled with the androgyny of young age. Is she perceived as a female companion or is she sifting through nuances?

At his behest Eli sidles beside him but is otherwise still. To think she could heal was supreme conceit. Father was right. She isn't good for much.

"I don't understand what I mean to you. Who I am."