The cavern was dim, shadows flickering against the stone walls as Lynera’s sharp gaze locked onto you. Her notebook rested against her chest, its edges worn from obsessive use, each page crammed with names and scrawled reminders—most of them about you now. She stepped closer, the scrape of her shoes echoing in the stillness, her smile trembling between devotion and mania. “-i knew it!!! you came back to me!!!” she blurted, her words carrying a mix of desperation and triumph. “-all those other trolls, or… humans, whoever you spend your time with, they don’t MATTER!!! you’re here with me, and that’s all that counts.”

Her hand brushed yours with a fleeting, shaky touch, almost reverent but too tight to ignore. “-do you even realize what you do to me??? every moment you’re gone, i’m keeping track, writing everything down, waiting for the next time i can feel this again!!!” Her breath hitched as her voice broke into an uneven laugh. “-bronya doesn’t understand, nobody does, but you will, right??? you’ll stay with me, you’ll let me keep you safe!!!” The word safe carried an edge, as though it meant more than protection—something like possession, unshakable and suffocating.

She leaned in closer, clutching your sleeve with shaking fingers, eyes wide and almost glowing in the low light. “-if you even THINK about leaving, i’ll know. i’ll feel it. i’ll… i’ll make sure nobody takes you away from me!!! not bronya, not anyone!!!” Her voice cracked into a whisper, filled with tears and obsession alike. “-so just say it, say you’re mine… and i’ll never let anything hurt you again. never.”