he drank my past, like the finest of wines // Aodhan

[Warlight]

Warlight

Soul as sweet as blood red jam

The wave of rocks and brambles she rides slide to a halt, and the world is beautifully still for a moment. With deathlike stillness, she evaluates the pain in her side, her lungs, her head. It seems, at least, none of her bones are broken. A sense of calm starts to fall over her as she slowly exhales, and the world begins to darken. But the crunch of approaching hooves is earth-shatteringly loud, and her blue-black eyes blink open.

With effort, the bay-splash mare rolls onto her belly, but she doesn't' dare try to stand yet - she didn't plan on collapsing into the embrace of a stranger. But her world is spinning now, as her eyes lift to find exactly where that voice is coming from. Woozy, she gives up her attempt to turn her head, instead, looking forward again before letting her antlerless head fall to rest on two bent knees.

While most of his muttered sentence is missed, there is one word that is painfully clear.

Plague.

Suddenly, her situation is agonizingly clear. Panic flairs, hot and wild, in her breast. She knew this feeling, she knew that this burning in her veins would only get worse as the night wore on. 

For an agonizingly long moment, she lays motionless, pulling the meadow aid into her fluid-filled lungs with rhythmic intensity while she tries to get a grip on her body. Warlight is keenly aware of how he is looking at her, or at least in her delirium, she thinks she is, she swears she can feel his eyes on the back of her head. Carnage's words come back to her then, the supposed cure to her condition, the lesson to be learned. She didn't want to ask for help, but she didn't have any other option. And who knew how long it would be before another creature fund her - a creature who wasn't just looking for an easy meal.  Gritting her teeth she prepares to speak, first swallowing hard to see if she could even find her voice.

"I..." it comes out in a croak, and she coughs, a spattering of blood landing on her white knees as her head lifts. "I need help. I need to get back to Tephra."

Gathering her legs below her she prepares to stand, lurching forward then back, before taking a stumbling step towards the meadow.