//continuation of this thread (no one will know who attacked her) + injuries include deep injuries in her back where her third-degree burns were healing and damage to her spinal cord - parts of her spine is visible and it almost appears someone was trying to split her in half

it felt awful. this feeling is foreign to her. she had never felt quite like this before. perhaps she had gotten a glimpse of it, when her papa had died, but this was so much worse now. it felt so awful. it filled her so intensely. it was grand. it was overwhelming. the fear. she had never felt so scared. she was absolutely terrified.

they were all at risk now, if she slipped up, and there was nothing she could do about it. she could not take him on. she didn't have the power to. she could not protect her family from him, not unless she did exactly as he said - say nothing. then she may stand a chance. and, she knew her family was strong, too, but who would she be to put them in danger? how could she possibly do that to them? no, she couldn't. she was already failing enough as is. she couldn't do this to them, too.

she needed to fix her mistake. she could not mess up. there was absolutely no room for error. and, the worst part of it was, she knew what he planned now. he told her what he was going to do to deldrach. she couldn't let him do that, but she couldn't tell anyone. she couldn't ask for help, 'less she risked everyone she loved getting hurt in the process too. if he was just threatening her, this would be different.

if goldie would be the only victim, this could be so different. she could deal with that - others could deal with that. they would be okay in the end, and so would she. she'd said her goodbyes when she thought she was going to die over a month ago now, so most of them would have already heard what she needed to say. there was so much she could say, but there was only limited time. but, she was not the only victim. it would not be okay if she screwed this up.

the young girl smelled of soothing candles and blood. her body laid frozen within the abandoned shack, simply trembling from fear and pain. the ground around her was covered in her own blood. she could not feel her hind legs much more than a tiny sensation that they were there, and her front legs weren't much better either. she felt like she could not move. but, she had to. she had to get out of here. she had to find a way to help deldrach. that was her goal now. she needed to stay alive for this.

goldie slowly and shakily began to move her front legs, touching them to the wall she had been thrown into. she painfully moved to pushed on the ground below her, causing her to slowly elevate, only to fall again. she let out a small cry, huffing in pain. the bengal kitten waited a few moments, trying again now. she was able to painfully push herself upward, her stance low and hind legs nearly limp.

her head hung low and she began to painfully struggle towards the exit, dragging herself close to the ground. she gasped from the movement and pain, agony and horror clear in her expression. she pushed herself out, breaths harsh as she stepped onto the sand. she managed to drag herself for a few more steps before collapsing onto her side, small cries exiting her.

fortunate for the little girl, her harpy eagle had been searching for her since she had ran off. lynn landed at her side quickly, letting out alarmed screes. tears formed in her eyes and she reached out towards lynn, breaths pained and eyes terrified. her back was covered in blood, the previously healing injuries now destroyed with new ones and parts of her spine stuck out near her shoulders, seeming to have been almost crushed in half.

if others were worried about her not getting rest before, it would seem they wouldn't need to now. she had no choice.

© MADI

What could one such as she do in this situation, a child inexperienced within the way the world functioned, who had seen only so much within the confinements of her minimal borders.

Small paws halted in their mindless wandering, a heavy knot tightening within their throat, restricting their breathing. She was little more than heap upon the sand, a smear of gold and red, an image seared into their mind. Lips parted in a faint murmur of sound, the prickle of tears rising to their eyes as the child struggled to force themself to move, to heed Rosemary's words, but time seemed frozen about them, each thought little more than static overwhelming their exhausted mind. They were so young, out of them all their age was shown too clearly as they forced down a breath, struggling to fight back against the nausea that gripped at them, useless here for nothing more than a distraction.

Teeth found their lower lip and dug into it, the faint copper tang of blood forcing their mind back into the reality set before them, reacting purely on instinct. Turning the child ran into the jungle in search of a river, any source of water that proved drinkable, muttering a string of curses under their breath as they skidded through the undergrowth. Finally they approached a slow moving stream and pulled a few wads of moss from their bag, thankful they had remembered to bring it with them and had stocked up with a few basics, thoroughly soaking each before they were moving once more.

“Here!” Breathless were their words when finally Aita came to a halt by Rosemary, offering her the soaked moss before they made a move to try and help, following the example of the Soothsayers by trying to gently press against the bandages to allow the pair to free their own paws to work.

the tyhpoon — sage — tags

© MADI

her shaking body let out small, pained coughs as she tried to figure out what to do next. her cries became weak weeps as she tried to hide them, to hold them back. she was in so much pain and she was terrified, and that was clear, but she wanted to hide it. she wanted to hide the agonizing feelings. she didn't want anyone to see or to worry, but she couldn't do anything about it now. so, she gently wept.

she could sense a presence arrive, though it felt distant through the pain, up until she grew right next to her and began to speak. rosemary's words would cause her to tense slightly, simply because this meant she may need to start lying now. she paused before responding, wanting to be sure she chose the right words. any wrong choice could lead to consequence. "i-i wa-was att-attacked," she uttered, not explaining by who or what. hopefully they wouldn't ask. she didn't want to lie. she really didn't.

the girl felt awful. she had promised to not get hurt so often, and now she did this. she hadn't known it was going to happen. she had just wanted to see the future, to get confirmation or denial that she was doing the right things. she had just wanted to know if she was making the right choices, but it was clear now she made the wrong one, and if she did it again, everyone would pay for it.

she remained quiet, other than the small weeping sounds she let out. lynn held a protective stance near the girl, though stayed out of the way of the others since he trusted all of them. as more arrived, her breaths would grow sharper for a moment, only making a slight change upon hearing fischer's words. she wondered why rosemary wanted fire. "tr-tryna' get m-me b-burned ag-gain?" she joked slightly, though with her pained, scared voice it didn't come off as light-hearted as she'd like.

goldie frowned, closing her eyes from the pain. "i-i can-can't fff-feel m-my legs v-very well," she tried to explain softly. she didn't know why she couldn't feel them - they hadn't been attacked. she didn't know much about the spine at all. all she knew was that it was hard to move.