wc: 601
Colibri did not have to wait long before her sister arrived, wrapping her in a protective embrace as they sank to the ground. She would have resisted it if she had been of sound mind and body; she would have insisted she could stand on her own two legs, and she didn't need to be held like a child, but the truth right now was that she did. She just wanted to disappear, to melt into the ground and never be seen again. The sense of shame ran deep, amplified as she perceived Miskunn's arrival, heard the authoritative howl summoning others to bear witness to her fall from grace.
She cringed, burying her face into Lilin's thick fur so that she would not have to see the looks on their faces. This was supposed to be her fresh start, but now she was a victim once again, forced to bear the pity of her packmates for as long as they would be reminded of her weakness. Male voices filtered through to her then, and she shivered, trying to keep her teeth from chattering. They were speaking to her directly, and it took time for her numbed mind to actually recognize and comprehend what they wanted. "Niernan, Saul..." she murmured, peeling her muzzle away from Lilin's warmth -- her sister was shaking as well, she wondered disjointedly why. There were others assembling around her -- she swept her gaze, recognizing Bran and Temeraire, not recognizing the rusty red-orange youth or the towering black-and-white giant dwarfing the rest of the gathering. She licked her lips nervously, feeling her mouth go dry as she tried to find her voice and address them all.
"I... I w-was attacked... by a loner," Coli stammered faintly, with as much volume as she could muster. Lilin would probably have to repeat her words for the others to hear, but it was the best she could do. "By the shore of the lake, j-just outside the border... a black dog..." Her ears fell flat against her damp mane, grimacing. She had been so close to home. If she had the courage to howl for help, it might have gone down differently; but she had been too afraid to provoke him that way, to call his bluff. He might have killed her on the spot, instead of having his sick fun. She wondered now if that might have been preferable. "Pl... please be careful, everyone... I tried to warn him not to come back here, but he could still be in the area..." Her wavering voice had gained a little firmness, as she tried to impress upon the other Vináttans that they should not make the same mistake she had, traveling alone. Her sad blue eyes wandered from face to face, hoping they would not be broken the way she had been.
Turning to Saul, she bowed her head in defeat, whispering to him as she clutched Lilin's hand. "I was beaten... my head, it really hurts... m-my chest, he..." She gestured feebly toward the inflamed area, the bloody initial branded into her skin, swollen with bruises from where she had been hit. That was the worst of it, as best she could tell; she ached all over, her wrists particularly sore from those cruel claws pinning them down, as well as a more sensitive region she could not mention in front of everyone. She stubbornly wanted to clean and bandage everything herself, but that desire was quickly ebbing. She did not have the energy to take care of herself, so she would accept the help offered to her.
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