Dawn felt her body relax as Phil called out her name. Yet, at the same time, her mind reeled back as if she was struck. 

 

“What… what did you call me? Phil, what did you just do?” Panic and anxiety rose up in her voice and it cracked with the strain. 

 

Phil slowly came to his senses. He could still feel the touch of the void. His body was stiff and uncomfortable. And, everything around him seemed to be screaming and singing out as loud as they could. But, even so, it slowly began to fade. And, he started to feel almost human again. 

 

“I… I just heard your name. It was radiating off of you. It was all that I could hear when I looked at you.” 

 

“Ughhhhh, that doesn’t make any sense, you, you ignorant lummox.”  Dawn blinked and buried her head in her hands. “You just named me. It changed in the system and everything.” 

 

Phil tilted his head. It wasn’t as loud as it was a moment ago. But, he could still hear her name. He could still see her. He could still understand everything that she was, everything she could be, and everything she would ever want. He raised an eyebrow. It was so clear.

 

“You were always Dawn. You were named in the conception of the dream.”  

 

“... The what?” Dawn looked up to Phil with utter confusion. “You’re not making any sense. You sound like that weird -”

 

The young bard cut off her sentence, she noticed something that she hadn’t a moment ago. “Uh… Phil? What happened to your eyes?”

 

His eyes were no longer human. They were black and filled with the void. But, if watched closely, a few motes of stray starlight would shine through the darkness. His eyes were beautiful and mesmerizing.

 

But, they were also terrifying and otherworldly. 

 

“I’ve… I’ve been cursed by the void. I’ve suffered from their touch.” He whispered quietly.

 

Dawn’s breath caught in her throat. It was odd. Her emotions seemed much more present now. They weren’t as muted or impulsive as they were before she had changed. And, she could feel some of the pain in Phil’s voice. 

 

Dawn awkwardly drew closer to Phil and placed a hand on his shoulder. “Aw, gee, I’m so sorry, bro. That sounds really rough.” 

 

She had no idea what she was doing. She was never in the position of being aware of other’s emotions and thoughts. And, she definitely didn’t have any idea how to comfort anyone. Especially someone that just went through something traumatic and an obviously life shattering change. 

 

Also, while she had reached out and touched him impulsively. It felt… weird. It wasn’t the same as before and it felt… kinda gay. 

 

Well, she had touched other men before as Ted. He had enjoyed it. It was fun, carnal and a bit animalistic. But, he hadn’t really ever touched anyone casually. And, definitely not to comfort another man. 

 

Dawn pulled back her hand and nervously sorta kinda giggled. It was an odd, strangled, half sob sort of laugh. An awkward chuckle that was almost as awkward as the touch. 

 

Phil rolled his eyes at her antics and pulled her into a hug. He whispered into her ear.

 

“It’s alright. You’re exactly as you should be now. 

 

I’m sorry that I didn’t see it sooner. 

 

I’m sorry that I broke your trust.”

 

Dawn’s face flushed. It felt really good to hear. 

 

“I-I… thank you”, she melted into his hug. He felt so warm. She felt so safe in his arms. “...Wait… fuck. I’m exactly as I should be now?”

 

Dawn launched herself away from his chest. And, placed a solid distance in between the two of them.

 

“I-idiot! W-what, w-what, do you mean? I’m, I’m not as I should be! 

 

I’ve changed. I’ve completely changed! I’m a girl! I’m completely a girl!

 

This is insane.” Dawn started laughing maniacally. And, spoke at a million words per minute.

 

“No. Nope. Haha, I’ve gone insane. I’ve finally done it. I’ve lost my mind. Yup. That's it. This is all a dream. A weird, crazy, messed up dream. I mean, I’m not. I would never. I was manly. Wait. Shit. I am still manly. Right? Like, people loved me, right? I was the best, most handsome, bard around, right? There’s no way that being a girl would suit me. Haha, nope, not at all. Especially, not a tiny, action packed, runt of a girl. Nope. Nope. I mean, no one would like me like this. They;d see through it in an instant. And, they’ll all laugh at me. I’m not. I’m not allowed to be a girl-”

 

Phil grimaced at the veritable torrent of words streaming from her mouth. Her words were obviously self deluding lies. They helped her cling to some semblance of normalcy. And, they were laced with an unbelievable amount of insecurities. 

 

If he hadn’t changed though, he might not have seen through all of it. He might not have understood. Or, seen her true form. 

 

And, if he was honest, he wasn’t a very good friend. He hadn’t really been there for her. Especially recently. 

 

Even so, her incessant jabbering was incredibly painful. He had just experienced the soothing grasp of oblivion, witnessed the dawn of creation. He was still coming to grips with having to exist in his body again. And, he was dealing with some pretty intense sensory overload that made it feel like his head was about to explode.

 

“Can you just- please just...”, Phil couldn’t get in a word edgewise. His face became strained, sweat collected on his brow. He clutched his head as it rioted from sight and sound. 

 

“Hmm? P-Phil? What's wrong?” Dawn finally took a breath in her long rambling and noticed that something was definitely amiss.

 

Phil pulled her back into a hug as she drew close and placed a hand over her mouth. 

 

“Just shush. I need some time, peace and quiet to recover.

I can see your worries though. It’ll be alright.

I accept you; we accept you. 

Don’t worry. We’ll figure it out.

Just shush.”

 

Then, he collapsed on top of her. He had used up all of his barely recovered strength from the ordeal. She was buried underneath the full weight of the mountain.