Sometime after working on the song.

A dream.

An innocent enough dream. Heather. The smell of spring mornings in Scotland. Erik smiles at the familiar scents his dream self is surrounded by.

The orphanage, though no people are around. Odd. Erik's brow furrow a bit and he looks around.

A car. A car that is familiar. He thinks hard, where has he seen this? Wallace? His one and only adoptive family before he knew his heritage? He walks over to the car, though cautiously.

The door opens. Inside, no one. Just 3 crystals. One on each of the front seats. One in the back.

Erik crouches down to examine the crystals, even sniffing at the inside of the car before reaching out to get the one in the driver's seat.

He smells nothing at first, but the moment he touches the crystal he experiences the worst sense of the Wyrm he's ever had. The dream begins to feel not like a dream. Erik curls back his lip an snarls at the Wyrm he senses, then looks up and around.

The world is different. Dark. Overly warm. Fetid even.

A whisper of a voice. "No one..."

Erik pulls his hand away from the crystal. He walks around the car to the other side and freezes at the voice, looking hard to see where it came from.

A faint movement of air. No further sound.

Erik sniffs the air and he reaches in to touch the crystal on the passenger side.

Again the overwhelming sense of corruption and death.

"No one ever...."

Erik growls, "No one ever what?"

Just the breeze. No answer.

Erik finally touches the last crystal. Again the evil. This time there is even the faint sense of his one-time sister. He shakes his head as if to clear it and looks closely at the crystal. It is just a clear crystal. It could be quartz. Or something more.

"Miranda knew."

Erik mutters, "Miranda?" A name he's not thought of in years. The car disappears and he stands in an empty field. The air is still fetid, but it's beginning to get cold. He looks around at the horizon of the field to see what he can.

"Miranda knew."

Erik grumbles, "Miranda knew what?"

"Riki knows."

The voice becomes an overwhelming weight. "No one...."

"...ever..."

Erik ggggrwolfs, as his eyes narrow.

"... loves you."

Starting awake, he sits straight up, knocking the blanket to the ground where he had dozed off on the couch. Grabbing the fallen cover he wraps himself in it and shivers as the long time fear resurfaces. Always the pariah, unwanted, cast away.... nothing to anyone.

Riki loves him, yes? No? He'll be discarded again?

A small boy hides under his blankets.