"Just 'cause it happened in a fight doesn't make it less of a mistake," York says, but when she sees the look dawning on Severa's face, she lets it drop. She thinks the kid's gotten the point, now. Or...at least arrived to it on her own terms. It's probably better that way. It's better to trust yourself.

"Not really," she admits. "I know it's hard, kiddo. Trust me, it took me awhile to get there. There were things about my own world, things that weren't the same when I left, that I spent too long clinging to. It just made it harder. This place...you've just gotta take it for what it is."