>We do not need to control everything, just this. Focus on the present and on the task before us; the future can be attended to in its own time. We need not be afraid of what might be - focus instead on what is, and know that we can be stronger than it. Steady ourselves and reach out to pull the veil away.
>You give yourself a slight mental shake of the head. You know yourself and your own strength, and with a bit of focus, you call this forth. Kiku's anxieties and insecurities quiet in response to your unshakable faith in one single axiom: All will be well. Quiet, but not completely still. You have the distinctly uncomfortable sensation of floating down through layers of someone's nightmares, if nightmares were daily life. Worryingly, you wonder back to the battle under the CRA, about what Kiku said, what the demon did. Is this what she saw, as well? Is this how she took advantage-
>No. You stop yourself from thinking along those lines. The last thing you want to do is make Kiku relive that day, or even think about it. All that matters is that you did overcome it. And you will overcome this situation. You and she have faced down a demon together, and sent it spiraling into defeat. As you draw nearer to the Grey, you can feel Kiku trying hard to hold on to that thought. She still feels the fear of that day very strongly, the sense of despair and dread and utter defeat the Champion of Water made her feel, but above them all is the sense of victory, of grim satisfaction she felt when you imprisoned the demon. If you're honest, it isn't the sort of emotion you'd encourage, but if it helps her in this situation, you're not about to tell her to stop. Nor do you, and buoyed by Kiku's support, the two of you eventually, finally, descend down past what seemed like miles of nightmarish dread to stand by the Grey thing within Kiku.
>When you reach out to touch it, however, you find that not only is it much firmer than the veil within Lily, it isn't really a 'veil' per se. In the thoughtscape of Kiku's mind, you see the Grey blot extending out in many directions, seeming almost like vines streaming out from a great grey root. Lily's mind contained a simple block around one or two facts, but Kiku's is far more pronounced, far older, running far deeper. A kind of systemic corruption of her mind.
