The lingering ache of entirely too recent wounds reached her before the light overhead or the sterile smell of the infirmary. Gone was the hand that held onto hers shortly after she first arrived, along with the salve-soaked strips of cloth which had dressed most of her wounds, but as awareness crept back in so did the lingering smell of rot sticking to her own skin and hair from the chimera's den. It brought to the forefront of mind the last vivid memories before the world went dark - the biting sting of ice, the burning numbness in her limbs and spine from the electric burst the creature spat forth, the burning rake of claws.
In the silence, the songstress lifted her head and squinted to see who was still around. Ruruni and Marina were still well out of it, and Aimee was elsewhere, presumably being watched over by Oni. Even Rhisi had taken her leave to rest and, she assumed, Jonathan must have gone back to his practice, and Felix and Alexi to their own business.
Whatever either of them do when no one is looking, she mused.
She sought for the linkpearl which was still tucked behind her right ear, but the desire to avoid troubling anyone further won out before she could ask who was about. She lay there, instead, and reflected on the events which put her and the others where they were, and the weight of her decision, the burden of three souls nearly lost, sat in the middle of her chest like a brick.
I did this, she thought. In my haste to see things done, I risked us all and nearly got them killed. Keep pressing on and through, no turning back. No... there very nearly wasn't.
Her head dropped back to the pillow with a dull, heavy thump as her eyes pinched shut. She hadn't remembered the trip back to the Hall but for the brief shifting and distorting of aether around her, and the vague sense of being held up, albeit awkwardly by one of her arms. She couldn't tell if the deep soreness in her shoulder was from that, or from one of several healing wounds.
I should be the last person in this position. A Marshall should be more careful... any leader holding others' lives in their hands ought to know better. We should have waited for the others to catch up to us. I'm no leader. Ser Wulfegard would be disappointed at such carelessness.
Ciel turned onto her left side but the motion and her own weight sent a searing stab of pain through the same shoulder, and this alone was enough to force her to move again, this time sitting up to stare toward the door. The bright lights reflecting off the pristine white walls of the room forced her to squint again as she looked around. Neither of her resting comrades had stirred as a result of her own fluster of movement, and she could make sure to avoid it at all if she could just make it back to her own quarters. The pounding and dizziness between her ears seemed to disagree with the very idea and screamed for her to rest longer before trying to move, just as any of the infirmary's caretakers might if they were present.
Alright, alright... just one more bell.
In the silence, the songstress lifted her head and squinted to see who was still around. Ruruni and Marina were still well out of it, and Aimee was elsewhere, presumably being watched over by Oni. Even Rhisi had taken her leave to rest and, she assumed, Jonathan must have gone back to his practice, and Felix and Alexi to their own business.
Whatever either of them do when no one is looking, she mused.
She sought for the linkpearl which was still tucked behind her right ear, but the desire to avoid troubling anyone further won out before she could ask who was about. She lay there, instead, and reflected on the events which put her and the others where they were, and the weight of her decision, the burden of three souls nearly lost, sat in the middle of her chest like a brick.
I did this, she thought. In my haste to see things done, I risked us all and nearly got them killed. Keep pressing on and through, no turning back. No... there very nearly wasn't.
Her head dropped back to the pillow with a dull, heavy thump as her eyes pinched shut. She hadn't remembered the trip back to the Hall but for the brief shifting and distorting of aether around her, and the vague sense of being held up, albeit awkwardly by one of her arms. She couldn't tell if the deep soreness in her shoulder was from that, or from one of several healing wounds.
I should be the last person in this position. A Marshall should be more careful... any leader holding others' lives in their hands ought to know better. We should have waited for the others to catch up to us. I'm no leader. Ser Wulfegard would be disappointed at such carelessness.
Ciel turned onto her left side but the motion and her own weight sent a searing stab of pain through the same shoulder, and this alone was enough to force her to move again, this time sitting up to stare toward the door. The bright lights reflecting off the pristine white walls of the room forced her to squint again as she looked around. Neither of her resting comrades had stirred as a result of her own fluster of movement, and she could make sure to avoid it at all if she could just make it back to her own quarters. The pounding and dizziness between her ears seemed to disagree with the very idea and screamed for her to rest longer before trying to move, just as any of the infirmary's caretakers might if they were present.
Alright, alright... just one more bell.
