Even the voices shut up at that one. Before Setsuna could even start thinking of a reply, she'd already turned away and he couldn't find it within himself to muster up a response. He just turned and headed for the cradle of his sleeping bag in silence, letting Anna's words roll around in his head. Inwardly, he would have thanked her for the inspiration speech but he didn't know what to even say. His unwavering courtesy had, for once, failed him.
The voices only grew worse in his nightmares. Expanding past mere noises into giant looming shadows, they relentlessly pursued him as he fled from what he could not harm, through a dark, tight forest which seemed designed to trip him over at every step. Forced to hack away at vines and plants that entangled his arms and impeded his flight, it was only a matter of time before they caught him, lifted him up and choked the breath out of him while he kicked and flailed futilely, the light growing brighter--
Setsuna woke with a strangled gasp, his sleeping bag having ensnared him while he slept. The light from his nightmare was from the fire, crackling and flickering. No doubt Anna had tended to it while on her watch. Rising from his cocoon, none the better from his rest, he took over Anna's position and settled in for a few hours of listening to the voices torment him, one hand on his sword. He dreaded returning to that shadowy place where he was so vulnerable, yet return he did after allowing Teddy to take watch,