Oh, thanks! You're too kind and just egging me on. :^) There's a lot more than could have been done with this little piece, even without adding significantly more text, but hey! At least I finally wrote some fic!

Totally agree with Tolkien's use of horror. He has a light hand, but evokes terrifying glimpses of the monstrous - the Watcher, the Dead Marshes, the things gnawing at the roots of the mountains. This Watcher has a more immediate presence but I hoped to still keep a bit of mystery there - what exactly is she? And who is her mother? Her elder kin who dwell in the abysses among the stars?

I'm not confident in my ability to do scary. I think ignoblebard, randy_o, and gratchets are the masters of horror in my little circle.