Craning her head back to watch Simmaeri's progress, she held her breath. When the sound began, when the singing started, she had to remind herself to exhale.

Collette tried to frame what she heard in words she knew. Nothing felt appropriate: in the end, she decided Simmaeri's song was heavy. Large and long, calling for an echo of something within that was almost bittersweet.

"Beautiful," she breathed more than said, rubbing her arms vigorously with her hands to calm an odd onset of chills. "Totally not what I had in mind, but amazing."