To the latest 'Guest' reviews that have been posted: When Esme says "Those two are Jasper and Alice", she's meant to be pointing out the individual vampires. Y'know, like, "This one right over there is Carlisle, this is Edward (that my left hand is pointing to), and these two over here (that I point to with my right hand) are Jasper and Alice." Trust me, I love Alice and Jasper probably just as much as the next Twilight fan. I have lots of respect for them.

Also, it takes a while to work through these chapters, which can sometimes end up being something like 18 pages long. It just takes me a while to write them, I can't post every day, much less several times every day. You'll just have to be content with the strange posting schedule I have going. XD

*********Now for the actual A/N*********

I realize I've begun to veer from the actual point of the story, beginning to focus more heavily on Rye and Leah than Bella. I'll be trying to get that back on track soon. Sorry for those of you who may be getting sick of it. XD

**********Alright, Story time again*********


Chapter Seventeen: Breaking News

Bella's POV:

Rye stood there in the doorway, his expression resembling something like vengefulness. My first instinct was that of self-defense, automatically triggered as he glared at each of us in turn. His aura exuded anger and violence, and I wondered why I wasn't feeling Edward tense underneath me. Or why Emmett or Jasper hadn't tried to restrain Rye yet.

I also wondered what Jacob could have said to make Rye so angry. Or why Jacob would have said whatever he did to make Rye angry.

These things passed through my head instantly. Rye spoke, shattering the still, quiet cloud of dread and tension hanging over the family at the moment.

"I'm in. What do you need?"

For a moment only I was confused as to what he meant. He strode over to Edward and nodded, like they had had a conversation that I hadn't known about, or perhaps hadn't heard. Alice sighed in the corner.

"And there goes any hope of me being able to see anything," she huffed.

Jasper comforted her, and I could feel his attempt at trying to dispel the melancholy air surrounding the Cullen family.

Edward finally spoke, sounding much more relieved than he had been a moment ago.

"We really appreciate it, Rye. For now, just keep a low profile and wait with us while we see what we can do for the other covens, to make sure they stay safe," Edward suggested.

Rye nodded, and turned as if to leave. Nobody stopped him as he walked outside and stood in the middle of the lawn. Without another moment wasted, wings sprouted from his back and he took off, blasting into the air fervently.

I wondered what he was doing, but for now most of my concentration was on the impending sense of doom that I could feel, thick on the air of the oncoming morning. It didn't seem to be like there was a clever solution; like there WAS a way out. Nothing I could do to protect my family.

I nuzzled further into Edward's shoulder for comfort as my vampire brain raced, trying to find anything, anything to keep the Volturi from attacking us. I couldn't think of anything.

Renesmee crept into my arms, and joined me in the center of Edward and my embrace. I knew that she understood the immense seriousness of our situation as well as any of us, and was doing her best to comfort us as she could.

To say that I was worried was an understatement. I was two steps away from completely freaking out. I could feel Jasper's attempts to calm me down, but it wasn't as effective as he or I would like.

"Edward, let's go home," I said, feeling bad for Jasper. He looked over at Jasper, reading the thoughts flowing off of him and nodded, lifting Renesmee onto his shoulders. She held on and suddenly we were off.


Leah's POV:

We walked into the diner, the little bell tingling happily. Charlie was seated in a small booth in the corner, one of the larger places to sit for his expected company. He smiled as he saw us approaching, and waved to us. Sue waved back and slid into the seat next to Charlie. Seth slid into the opposite bench, and I followed him.

"Well Charlie, it's good to see you again!" Sue said, and I could see that she and Charlie were going to be in their own little world that had slowly begun developing, ever since Bella's transformation. Seth and I could talk about nuking the town, and it was highly possible that neither of the adults would even falter in their conversation.

I looked over at the diner's bar, where Linda was wiping the counter down, just like every other Monday we came here. But my mind was on other people. Well, person.

I repeat, imprinting is very weird.

Based off of what I've seen of Jacob, Quil, and Paul, the way Rye and I had imprinted was different than any of theirs. Each of them seemed infatuated to an unhealthy degree with their imprints, and while I still did have automatic impulses regarding Rye, I felt a lot more in control of my thoughts and actions than I would have originally believed. Of course, I almost magnetically followed Rye earlier this morning, so I wouldn't say I was completely immune to strange imprint-things.

Seth kept glancing at me out of the corner of his eye as mom and Charlie talked. I didn't really care. There was only one set of eyes at the moment that could draw me away from my thoughts. Stormcloud grey ones. Pools of platinum…

Ugh. Snap out of it, Leah.

Ugh. Ugh. Ugh.

I felt so many new, strange sensations. I was pretty sure not all of them were due to the fact I had imprinted. I could feel the pull that Rye had on me, like he was my new center of gravity. I was pretty sure he was still around La Push, or maybe even heading into Forks. Any moment now he could walk right through the diner door, and I could tell mom that I'd imprinted, and Charlie could—Charlie could not watch, while we talked about werewolf-stuff…

Ugh, I'm fantasizing again. I tried to pay more attention to the plate of food in front of me, wolfing it down (metaphorically) and failing as my mind automatically reverted to Rye.

"Leah?" a voice said, in the back of my mind. "Leah."

The spell holding my concentration on my egg-biscuit was broken, and I looked up. Mom was looking at me with some confusion as she and Charlie just watched me holding my seventh biscuit in my hand and staring at it.

"Are you okay?" mom asked.

"Yeah, why do you ask?" I asked, taking a bite out of my biscuit, trying to sound nonchalant.

"You've been staring at that biscuit for about ten minutes," mom said. "And you're very quiet today. And kinda distant—"

"Well, you and Charlie were busy, and I wasn't really talking much to Leah," Seth said, trying to cover for me. I glanced at him quickly to express my thanks.

"Yeah, you guys are having fun. Just thought I'd be quiet today." I said.

Sue seemed to buy this, so I glanced back down at my biscuit, making an effort to remember to eat it as I began anew my train of thought. I wondered where he was. He had said he was going to the Cullens, but for some reason I just felt like that wasn't where he was. He was somewhere else—

Suddenly the horrifying thought flashed through my mind that Rye could be hurt somewhere. Or lost. Or in trouble of some kind. I realized that in all probability, Rye could take care of himself for at least a few hours, but my brain wouldn't drop the matter. It kept nagging at me, and I could feel myself shifting uncomfortably, itching with the impulse to run and check on Rye.

I felt someone touch my arm, and I snapped out of it long enough to recognize the look in Seth's eyes as he glanced from me, to Charlie and Sue, back to me again. He knew I would give myself away if I kept this up much longer.

I gave him another grateful look, trying to pass off my uncomfortable shifting as small things; just shifting my weight, looking like I was thinking about going to the bathroom, small things. But inside I was only getting antsier and antsier by the minute, and Seth saw that quite clearly.

Unfortunately, we also have an observant mother who did know something about werewolves.

"Leah, I know that something is up. You won't sit still for more than a minute before you look like you want to get up and rush somewhere," Mom said, eyeing me curiously. She had no idea how accurate she was, and how powerful this impulse to go see Rye safe again was.

"Yeah I, uh, need to go to the restroom," I said, getting up and starting to walk towards the restrooms.

I kept walking towards the bathroom, wondering how much longer this breakfast meeting would last. I had nothing against Charlie, but I needed to see that my imprint was still ok. I was going to go insane if this kept up too much longer.

I passed the door as someone stepped in, dressed in a hat and trenchcoat like a gumshoe detective would wear. I almost laughed, before I saw something peek out at me from underneath the hat. A stormy grey eye, surrounded by a red patch of skin.

Like a magnet, my intended destination quickly relocated to Tall-Scarlet-and-Handsome in front of the door. A huge weight was suddenly off of my shoulders, allowing me to have some peace from the anxiety I had been feeling.

"Rye," I said, and I couldn't help smiling. I was just being silly and I knew it, but I was much too relieved at the moment that he was perfectly fine.

"Leah," Rye said, reaching out a gloved hand and touching my shoulder. I could hear the smile in his voice too, and the moment held for a few moments, before the air around him turned serious. "The Cullens are in trouble. I'm pretty sure the wolves are too."

I frowned. Already? Couldn't the Cullens' enemies give us a moment of peace? Who was it this time? I ran through the list of the enemies of the Cullens that I knew about. They were all dead, except for the—

My face paled.

"How do you kno—"

"Leah?" I heard my mom ask again; I turned and saw her looking between me and the mysteriously dressed stranger. Rye hid his face behind the collar of the trench coat he wore, and I resisted the urge to try to hide him behind me, to protect from the questioning eyes on us that made him uncomfortable. "Who's your friend?"

"Oh, you met him earlier, remember?" I asked her, somewhat nervously. "Remember Rye?"

Her eyes suddenly flashed with several emotions; suspicion, shock… and I was surprised to see something akin to anger.

"I thought I said it would be best if he didn't come," Sue said, and I could hear in her voice that she was upset.

"Sue," Charlie said, fixing his eye on Rye, and I could tell he was trying to see his face to store it in his memory. Rye lowered his hat to keep Charlie safe from the shock. "Is he trouble?"

Sue looked at me, reading something or other from my expression. "I don't know."

I frowned. "You haven't even taken the chance to talk to him yet! You should really get to know people before you just start accusing them of vandalism, mother."

I clap a hand over my mouth as my mom stares back at me, somewhat shocked. I can't believe I just said that, but the words came out of my mouth before I knew what they were.

I felt Rye lean over and whisper into my ear, "It's fine, I was just going to tell you that I'll be at the Cullens if you need me, helping them prepare." Then he straightened and looked at my mother, even if she couldn't see past his coat and hat at his strange condition. "I was just leaving, I only came to tell your daughter something, Mrs. Clearwater."

I turned at looked at Rye. I opened my mouth to protest his idea of planning to fight the Volturi again. I didn't want him anywhere near those leeches, much less in hand-to-hand combat when he couldn't even seem to properly phase.

Rye must have seen this on his face, because he chuckled quietly. "I can't let them just get killed, Leah. They took care of me, and helped me realize that I could talk to you, and see you, in person. They're very important to me, I have to protect them and you."

"Just a minute, Rye," Sue said, standing up from her booth and walking over to Rye, who stood on eye-level with her. "Why are you in Forks anyways?"

"I crash-landed here, and found someone who—" Rye began, but I slapped a hand over his mouth before he could break our news to my mother.

"Mom, I do need to talk to you about this," I said, and lowered my hand, hoping Rye wouldn't continue his sentence. He must've known why I stopped him, because he didn't try to finish his previous sentence. I finished my sentence, "but it has to be later."

"Leah, I think we should talk about this before later," Sue said, looking at me with an angry glimmer in her eye that was totally understandable. I had stood up against her twice this morning, something I didn't do too often. Not to mention actually telling my mother off in a public setting.

"I promise I will explain it all, but right now Rye has to go," I said, though the words felt like they physically hurt my throat coming out. Rye nodded, and turned to go.

My mother reached out and held Rye's coat sleeve, holding him in place. I was sure he could wrench himself free if he wanted, due to the fact that he was a shapeshifter and my mother only had his coat sleeve. But I was somewhat confused.

"No, Rye has to stay here until you two tell me what is going on," Sue said, her eyes sparking a little.

I glanced behind Sue at Charlie and Seth, who were watching us. Seth made eye-contact with me, and I could see that he wanted to intervene to help me, but was afraid of breaking my secret. I looked back into my mother's eyes.

"In front of Charlie?" I asked.

Sue's eyes narrowed for a moment. She knew that this was our little catchphrase that it was werewolf or vampire-related business. But I could see she didn't know if I was using that simply as an out or if I was serious.

"Mrs. Clearwater, if I may," Rye interceded, "How much do you know about the Cullens?"

"We know all about the Cullens," Sue answered, somewhat curtly, "why do you ask?"

"I came to tell your daughter about something I learned about. It involves her and the rest of the wolves and the Cullens especially. I'm going to go to the Cullens to help them prepare."

Sue looked between Rye and me. I saw her begin to waver, deciding whether or not to ground me now or later. But suddenly I felt another hand on my shoulder. I turned, and my eyes widened a little as I saw that it was Renee standing behind me.

Crap, I forgot she was coming too today! This was just getting worse and worse!

"What about the Cullens?" Renee said, quietly. I could see the fear lurking behind her eyes.

"Uh," I said, wondering what I should tell her. If what I knew of Bella held true for her mother, she could easily get worked up about even small things. I felt like I was going to melt under my mother's gaze and Renee's. "Well, you see, they, uh—"

"Leah, spit it out," My mom said.

"The Cullens are in trouble again," I said, trying to dodge as much of the question as I could. "It's not really my business, but Rye thinks that the wolves are gonna be in trouble too, at least that's what he told me."

"In trouble?" Renee said, her face paling ever so slightly. "In trouble from what?"

"Um, it's really not my—"

"A group of vampires called the Volturi. Ever heard of them?" Rye asked Renee.

Renee gasped in recognition and paled considerably. She only barely managed to restrain herself from someone being able to hear her as she roughly whispered, "My daughter is about to fight the Volturi?!"

I felt like hiding behind my hands. My life had suddenly, within the course of two days, had turned into a freakin' soap opera. That's what all this was. Ugh, so much drama in the air it was almost palpable.

"What are the chances of the wolves being attacked?" My mother asked me, as if I knew all the details after having barely whispered to Rye before she had interceded.

"What's the plan to keep the Volturi at bay?" Renee asked.

Ugh. This was too much at once.

"Mom, I have some big news to break to you, and I'm going to need you to wait until tonight when you can handle it. Renee, I really have no idea about any of this. I only JUST learned about it. Now I'm going to go with Rye to the Cullens to clear my head and fill it with something else for a little while. I'll see both of you later, and then and only then will I have your answers for you, maybe," I said, speaking quickly as I was a little short on patience.

Before either mother could retaliate by bombarding me with more questions, I quickly turned, grabbed Rye's arm, and dashed out of the diner. Rye followed behind, keeping an easy pace with me as we ran.

"Sorry, but I had to get out of there," I said as we ran towards the direction of the good doctor's home. "Hi again. Glad to see you're still okay."

Rye laughed for a moment. "Hello again. I'm glad to see you, even if I may have gotten you in trouble."

"I think I probably had it coming anyways," I admit.

We run for a few more moments before Rye stops me. "Wait, I've got a better way."

In one quick motion, he leaned down quickly. I yelped in surprise as my feet left the ground suddenly, swept up by one of his arms while I was lifted up by the other. My cheeks burned brightly as Rye glanced around him, holding me bridal-style.

"Rye, what are you—" I began, but he grinned and threw off the trenchcoat he wore. From his back, the red skin swirled into two focal points, and suddenly large ruby-red wings appeared.

"My wings can get us there faster," Rye explained. He looked at me, with a humorous twinkle in his eye. "You got to carry me once, now I get to carry you."

And suddenly gravity didn't apply to us anymore. With one burst of strength, his massive wings flapped, launching us skywards. Instantly my arms were wrapped around his neck in a death-grip as he began soaring over the trees on the way to the Cullens. It was a slow day in Forks and nobody was out in the streets, but I kept myself from screaming as we flew over the town. Who knows who might hear it? We flew unhindered as he carried me towards the forest.

"Rye, weren't you having trouble with your wings?" I asked hesitantly. I didn't want to suddenly be free-falling towards the very pointy-looking ground right now.

"When I'm with you, they seem to stick around longer, don't worry," Rye said, flapping again.

The way he was holding me was presenting all kinds of distractions to my imprint-riddled brain, despite my protests.

'He's so waaaarm and gentllleeee…' my brain cooed somewhat obsessively.

'SHUT UP!' I thought back to my brain, tightening my grip on his neck as I blushed harder at my own thoughts. 'We're trying not to die, remember?'

My brain giggled like a schoolgirl, whilst the rational side of me was preoccupied with self-preservation. I was seriously freaking out about being so high up, but I knew that Rye would do his absolute best to keep me safe, and so far the flight hadn't even been turbulent yet. It was just my imagination doing this to me.

I didn't want to look at the ground far below, so I closed my eyes as I held on tightly.

Rye chuckled a little. "Fear of heights?"

"If you tell anyone about this, I will kill you," I muttered.

"I won't drop you," Rye said.

"I know, I just…" I said, shuddering. "…can't deal with heights unless I'm the one on the ground."

Rye was quiet for a moment.

"Open your eyes, trust me. It's not bad," Rye asked softly.

I shook my head. "No Rye, I really—"

"Leah," his voice said, cutting through my sentence. "Look."

His voice was firm, and still gentle towards me. I could feel that we'd stopped moving, and I had the feeling that we would stay in one place until he was satisfied that I had looked.

Cautiously, I cracked open one eye. I peeked out carefully, but my eyes widened when I saw that we were hovering only a few feet off of the ground in front of the Cullen's house. I slapped Rye's chest.

"Darn you, you scared me!" I said, laughing.

"You were the one who didn't want to look," Rye laughed back, letting his wings drop us the rest of the way. Once safely on the ground, he deposited me back on my feet.

Taking Rye's hand, I walked forward into the house of vampires to find out if we werewolves would be able to survive the oncoming battle.


Rye's POV:

The way she fit perfectly in my arms didn't do my brain any favors. Her arms, encircled around my neck…

I couldn't help but notice the way that her arms encircled my neck with an iron grip, as she held on for dear life.

"Fear of heights?" I said, chuckling. I was truly fortunate not to have such a fear of heights. After all, when one can fly, heights fail to be so terrifying. That is, until one's wings suddenly disappear for no apparent reason.

"If you tell anyone I will kill you," Leah mumbles into my shoulder as I begin the descent to the Cullen's front lawn.

We're only a couple of feet off the ground now, and I do want her to be able to enjoy flying like I am beginning to.

"Open your eyes it's not bad. Trust me," I said gently.

"No Rye, I really—" Leah begins, shaking her head.

"Leah, look," I said softly.

Hesitantly, she opens one eye and peeks out. Once she sees how far over the ground we are, she opens her eyes the rest of the way and slaps my chest playfully.

"Darn you, you scared me!" she laughs, though I can't help but notice the light traces of a blush on her cheeks.

"You were the one who didn't want to look," I laughed. I stop flapping and lightly drop back to the ground, before depositing Leah on her own feet again.

Absently, her hand found her way in mine as we walked towards the doorway together, ready to try and plan a defense against the oncoming Volturi.

As soon as we stepped inside, the Cullens glanced up at us somberly. They looked at Leah with some surprise, not expecting her to come along with me for some reason.

"Dr. Cullen," Leah began, biting her lower lip. "Um, the wolves and interested parties want to know if the Volturi are quite set on attacking your coven."

"We're totally in, if they come here," Jacob adds at my side. I nod in agreement, and I can hear a little exasperated sigh coming from Leah.

"Yes, they're definitely coming. Jane is shaking with excitement over the prospect of subjecting Bella to her gift, if given the chance. They have some sort of plan, but they know that I can be dodged, and so now I don't know what it is," Alice groans in defeat. "Or maybe my gift really is leaving me."

Jasper placed a comforting hand on Alice's back and pulled her into a hug. I can't help but notice the momentary look of anguish that flashes across everyone's face. I look around.

"Where did Bella and Edward go?"

"They needed a moment to process this; they went home," Carslisle said, rubbing the back of his neck, most likely out of human habit.

"How many of the other covens have been captured already?" Jacob asked, and I could see his expression enter a strategizing mode.

"The Irish Coven has been taken, the Volturi are heading for the Egyptian Coven next. They'll realize the Coven has scattered in about four hours… I think," Alice says, wrapping her arms around her knees.

Carlisle nodded sadly at this news. "Is there any way to contact Ben to tell him where to meet us?"

"Ben and Tia didn't take any phones with them. I can't imagine them stopping somewhere long enough that I could call them. And I don't want to slow down their arrival any more than I absolutely have to. They'll really be neck-to-neck with the Volturi at the airport. We should probably discuss how we're going to approach that issue," Alice said quickly.

"What is there to discuss? Ben is probably the most powerful vampire we've seen, and with him at our side we have a fighting chance," a burly vampire said, stoically. His arms, swelled with muscle so he looked like a prizefighter boxer, were crossed, adding to the muscular aura surrounding him. "Let's just go pick them up."

"But there's also the chance that if we do that, we'll get caught by the scruff by the other Volturi," Alice objects. "We won't be able to use any of our normal abilities to fight in a populated area, and with numbers on their side, they'll just be able to lead us out of the public eye and finish us easily."

"Nah, we'll just strike first. Once they're stunned, Ben can shoot some fireballs or something and make it all explode."

"That won't draw attention at all," I said, rolling my eyes. "I know I'm new here, but I do know this; if they're anything like my experience has been, they won't be easy to defeat. Even with whatever this Ben could do, it sounds like they've still got the upper hand."

"No, because you're forgetting to add the wolves in this equation," Jacob says, stepping forward.

"But what if the Volturi decide that we do have too much of an advantage, and decide to fight in public? Then our powers would all be useless, since we wouldn't be able to use them anyway, and their superior numbers could just overwhelm us."

"He's got a point," Jasper said, grimly nodding. "What we need to do is to get them away from the public eye, once we get Ben. Ben is most likely the key point in this fight. If the Volturi get a hold of him, they'll be virtually unstoppable."

"So we need to decide; go to Ben and Tia and try to help them escape, or try and stay back to avoid the Volturi?"

"The Volturi are coming either way; we might as well try and save Ben while we have a chance. I vote we go," Said Jasper.

"Same," the burly vampire said. "And if they get too close, I'll bite their fingers off."

"I'll do whatever Jasper wants to do," Alice said, leaning into Jasper's arms, a heavy air of melancholy around her, though I could almost see the difference Jasper was trying to make.

Slowly everyone agreed. Even Leah agreed, though I could tell by her expression she didn't want me to be too close to anything, just like I didn't want her to be related to this mess at all.


A small boy rushed into a cave from the rain, skin steaming as the water dripped down a few feet before turning to steam on the boy's overheated skin. The boy's tears were hot as well, and turned to steam almost as fast as they came out.

A 6-year-old Rye hugged his knees and wept, as small foot-long wings flapped skittishly on his back. His glowing eyes were the only source of dim light in the cave, as he wept. Looking out of the mouth of the cave, his slit-eye pupils stared at the glowing lights of the town that had only hours before been called his home.

As he placed his head back on his knees again, his mind automatically replayed the last hour for him, torturing itself even more as the images flashed by his mental eye.

His mother, whispering harshly to his father about how she couldn't stand the sight of his oddities. She called him demon-possessed. His father hesitated to dispute it. His own mother overrode the dispute, demanding that they send for someone of authority to expunge whatever demons were inside the small boy. His father weakly protesting once more, but having no valid argument to explain away the oddities that plagued the six year old child.

The mother's face of anger as she noticed the dim yellow glow from the child's eyes, lighting the hallway as he listened to her every word.

"What are you doing still up!? Get back to bed right now!" she shouted, and for a moment Rye looked to his father for some semblance of comfort. His father glanced at Rye, shuddered, and looked down in shame.

Rye felt shock. He had suspected that his parents had found his appearance distressing, for reasons at the time unknown to the young boy. At first, he had attributed the changes as normal to any person, but that belief was quickly faded as time went on, and it became all too clear that his appearance was anything but normal.

Now to be called a demon-possessed… and for his father and mother to actually act this way around him…

It was too much.

Rye obediently walked back towards his bedroom, dejectedly. He knew that he would only upset his parents further by staying. He had to go.

His mother shut the door behind him as he stepped into his bedroom, and he wasn't too surprised when she locked it after him. Not for his protection, but for fear of his reptilian eyes. The fear that he was possessed by a demon was too much for her to handle.

Rye quietly walked over and grabbed a few sets of clothes and a few toys. He grabbed his sneakers, a blanket, his and shoved it all in a pillow.

Rye walked over to the window, and opened it up. The distance from the ground to the window was about five feet, and he was about three tall at the time. It would be a scary fall for only a moment.

Rye turned, glancing back around the room that he had spent the majority of his six years in. He would miss his family, or that is he would miss what they once had been. But it had been different enough for a while now that there wasn't much left of what it used to be. He wondered for a moment if they would miss him too. He wasn't sure. He might as well make as much use of himself to them as he could.

He threw one leg over the edge of the window, and then the other, hanging out by his arms alone. He grabbed the pillow, and started walking. He didn't really have an idea when he started to walk of where he was going, but he knew he was going there. Wherever it was that Fate would take him, that was where he would be headed.

Of course, being a six-year-old he didn't have any idea of Fate or Destiny, so for the time being, he decided that it would be nice to spend the night in a cave.

It was only about five minutes of walking that there was a crack of thunder, and the rain began to fall. He would need shelter soon to spend the night.

The memories cut off, satisfied that he had endured enough for tonight. With that last thought, his mind began to shut down from emotional fatigue. He curled up for warmth, tossing the blanket loosely over him as he laid down against the stone floor, the pillow the only soft thing in sight.

He closed his eyes and slept, his eyes red and puffy with fallen tears of loneliness.