[ river listens to her speak with a curious tilt of her head. wonders what her world must be like, to live a life surrounded by beautiful things. river imagined a different life for herself too, before it was all painted black. ]

Sounds like a nice dream.

[ but now they're here with no way out. a nightmare, maybe, or the start of one. river hugs her knees. ]

Time to wake up. Come downstairs, see what's hiding beneath the tree. Maybe it's presents, but I don't think they looked at our wishlist.