Eternity RPC Board
11-20-2019, 07:38 PM
Too much. The scene was too much for Elke’s sluggish mind to take in. Her eyes, still trying to focus on the — the flesh? The ripped-open cells like a beehive? The veins? The — what was—?
She opened her mouth to speak and instead coughed, and she wasn’t sure whether it was the flame and smoke from an explosion that she was pretty sure had sent her tumbling into an accursed garden, or the now acrid stink of brimstone mingling with something sugary and fermented.
Nevina was there.
In her confusion, Elke hadn’t even noticed. The woman did not look well per se, but she was not dripping blood, not a smoldering heap. She was alive.
“Nevina?” the girl peeped.
Hold onto Nevina? She could do that. At least, she thought she could. Her arms felt so heavy, as if they’d been tied to boulders, but she managed to raise them and wrap them clumsily around Nevina’s shoulders. Something about the way it felt to cling to her this way was nostalgic. Filial. She wanted to lay her head on Nevina’s shoulder and go to sleep, the way she did as a little girl when her dad would carry her to bed.
But the last thing Elke remembered was that Nevina had been gravely wounded, even if she didn’t look it now, and she was hesitant to do anything that would cause her any additional pain. She was also afraid to fall asleep; Nevina’s voice had sounded relieved when Elke awoke, so maybe it was not safe to sleep here now.
In a stupor as she clung to her companion, the mageling asked, “Are we dead?”
She opened her mouth to speak and instead coughed, and she wasn’t sure whether it was the flame and smoke from an explosion that she was pretty sure had sent her tumbling into an accursed garden, or the now acrid stink of brimstone mingling with something sugary and fermented.
Nevina was there.
In her confusion, Elke hadn’t even noticed. The woman did not look well per se, but she was not dripping blood, not a smoldering heap. She was alive.
“Nevina?” the girl peeped.
Hold onto Nevina? She could do that. At least, she thought she could. Her arms felt so heavy, as if they’d been tied to boulders, but she managed to raise them and wrap them clumsily around Nevina’s shoulders. Something about the way it felt to cling to her this way was nostalgic. Filial. She wanted to lay her head on Nevina’s shoulder and go to sleep, the way she did as a little girl when her dad would carry her to bed.
But the last thing Elke remembered was that Nevina had been gravely wounded, even if she didn’t look it now, and she was hesitant to do anything that would cause her any additional pain. She was also afraid to fall asleep; Nevina’s voice had sounded relieved when Elke awoke, so maybe it was not safe to sleep here now.
In a stupor as she clung to her companion, the mageling asked, “Are we dead?”