✦ WATCH IT UNRAVEL // INJURY

[guts]

She wasn't a cowardly person, but when she thought about having to move on from here, it made her uneasy. She wasn't eager to leave, not because she was fond of Snowbound, but because she didn't know what else she would do, or where she would go. What place was safe? As far as she was concerned, she didn't feel safe anywhere, like eyes were always watching her every move. She had no sense of direction in her life anymore, and it both frustrated and depressed her.

Nevertheless, West felt she had outstayed her welcome. Everyone here was friendly--sometimes too friendly for her liking--but she knew she could only stay so long before she blew her cover somehow, before people found out about what she had done. She didn't want to risk any of that.

So, finally, she was ready to leave. She hadn't brought any belongings with her, which was better in her mind; it made it easier to leave without anyone noticing. She didn't want it to turn into some big thing. Casting one last look around the small place she had settled down in, she turned and headed out, paws sinking down into the biting snow. The sun was just beginning to rise, casting a dim orange glow over the land. She made sure to get up before anyone else, give herself the chance to slip away.

The canine trudged through the white powder gathered on the ground, not looking back towards the large spire that rose up towards the sky, eyes trained on the rocky terrain before her. She couldn't help wondering how she had found herself here in the first place, among the mountains. Had she really wandered that far, no destination in mind? It made her sad to think how far away she was from where she had started out, yet also gave her a small sense of relief. But she quickly brushed these emotions off--there was no time for such things now.

Through her aimless thinking and pondering, she realized she had reached a particularly steep place in the mountains, jagged stones reaching out from the ground as it sloped down. She wasn't perturbed, though, especially not with the idea that she would have to turn back and possibly be discovered by some Snowbounders. Instead she measured her steps, paying close attention to where she placed her paws.

For what was the next time of many, she wasn't careful enough, a mistake she hadn't made in a long while. The loose bits of rock faltered under her paws, until they came free, sending her slipping and falling. She rolled, vision a blur of white and grey, until she was abruptly stopped by one of the large boulders, her side crashing into it. Through the disorientation, she could hear a low, sickening crack. Stars danced in front of her eyes at the pain that slammed into her body.

A strangled cry broke from her throat before she could stop it. It carried over the empty morning air, the sound only worsening the agony she now felt, raking through her whole being and making it difficult to move or even think. Her brain was still spinning, head light and swimming, trying to grip what was happening. Before she could come to terms, consciousness steadily slipped away from her, until everything turned black.

//wounds: a few broken ribs, minor cuts and scratches

[Grimm]

[align=center][div style="max-width: 420px; line-height:120%; font-family: arial; font-size: 8.5pt; text-align: justify; margin-bottom:5px"][ she means well dog just ain't good at showing concern without being an ass and only the last three paras actually matter, i got very carried away with this ]

Home – simple the casing cast about the fragile structure, lingering upon the course surface of tongue for the space of mere seconds counted within the murmur of heart, quick each beat as the fine muscle works, tireless no matter the taunt stretch of thought frozen beneath realisation. Amusing the quick breath which may part the lips in its wake, laughter brittle as it rose forth from the dark contours, or it might be the quiet gathering of moisture, delicate little droplets grown large before they fell.

Large the number of those counted amongst the whisperers who felt the touch of the syllables dragging along their tongue, catching behind the pearly surface of teeth, yet always were there spaces. In the dark corners she lingered, longing contained within the hollow space her chest had become in the course of her life, yet dust coated her tongue, robbed her of her voice. It bore little significance the many places she had come to reside within, the twisted roots and the abandoned halls, choked with the light presence of weak sunlight or the mass of cobwebs gathered into thick mounds, none had the quality which allowed her tongue to taste the word she so wanted to find there, fill the screaming emptiness of her being.

Where the heart lingered is where home was supposed to be or the presence of another grown large, a god within the mind of the beholder that held only love. So where was her home, fantastical the idea touching the ragged surface of sleep addled thought, the place she may belong without fear, where her love was no burden pressing upon the shoulders of the one she gave it to. Might this be the place or were they alike, gulf separating them for all too different the two women to be joined yet drawn closer for the simple lack, the misgiving of thinking themselves unworthy of a place of belonging, a second chance where life may once more be held with trembling, caring hands.

Long ago had her weak attempts at forming a sleep schedule that may permit her mind and body some semblance of a chance to gain the rest desperately needed and so her mind wandered in the beginnings of light slumber, warmth seeping through the mounds of fabric and pillows she rested atop. Comfortable was it no matter the darkness gathering in dusty corners she held no energy to clean, drawing forth a veil about the loose stacks of books, yet she was a point of colour, or may one deem her a lack. Pale her body, stretched out amongst the fabric as though from her prone body the structure of her skeleton had been striped and so she held no ability to twist herself into a position offering comfort, odd the angel her body had taken. For the space of a few minutes she allowed her mind to wander, slight the twitch of ragged skin atop her head, beyond the walls the gentle crunch, passage marked with slow treads barely grazing her attention.

Well known was it few slept well, about did they move in the hours before dawn arose with the brushes of orange and pink about the rocky edges of the horizon, and so ignorant for the moment was she of the other, the woman who deemed herself West, a pretty picture she thought well of though short had been their interaction up to that moment. In time Dogmeat may have allowed her thoughts to wander, touch upon something she had not drawn forth into the light for some time, allow the faint traces of interest to gather until stronger had it grown. Possibility lingered there, strange the familiarity in the harsh eyes set in the darkness of empty features, fragments of her past arising though different had her response been, brushing aside the old days for they did not suit this life she was building.

Breath caught, movement all too sudden and protest arose, ache building in muscle not prepared for the sharp twist, the movement of a body grown too old for such expenditure of minimal energy. Echoing notes caught within her head, clawing along the lining of her skull until it was all there was. Pain within the wavering notes, fading until all she heard was the wail of the wind scrapping along the walls of her cabin once more, worry gnawing along the lining of her gut. Minimal was her knowledge within the aspects of healing, enough she may assist in patching up more minor injury if such became a necessity and allow herself the chance to continue if her body gave up, mind running through the little knowledge she bore, for a time frozen. Better might it be if she was not present, going about the camp awaking others who may be of more assistance then the small oriental time had seen fit to rob of much, younger and stronger each.

Ya ain't warth nutin, betta ta fed ya ta the mutts. Sneer plastered upon the dark contours of lips, dark the gaze cast upon her, empty those depths as once they had been, the scrap of a child not worth the energy needed to bring forth the disappointment and rage boiling beneath her breast bone. Weak the memory touching the edge of her thought and all at once she found herself moving, the crunch of snow marking her slow progress, stumbling along with a cry upon her lips. “Wake da fuck up! Get ya fuckin asses out 'er,” beneath the wind her voice faded, words torn at until they seemed a faint murmur to her ears. There was not enough time to contemplate if her call may be heeded, or if it may have reached the ears of others, continuing her path on though her momentum drew to a momentary stop as the decline grew.

Treacherous the ground before her, rock hidden beneath the powder grown thin so far from the spire, points arising as though each an island cast within a sea frothing with lacy foam. Exhaustion tugged at her but still she continued, bounding between each rock as best she could, sharp the inhale of a sudden breath as a rock caught her off guard, leg twisting at an angel it would not be able to without such assistance. Slowed some she stumbled across the dark shape as the sky lightened further, a disc severed near its middle peaking over the horizon, the weak beams dancing across the dark hairs.

Reaching, shaking the limb, so slight the paw finding itself buried in the thickness of fur. Soft. Unbidden the thought rose, chuckle briefly parting her lips before Dogmeat was leaning closer, faltering for a time before she was moving to gently press her chilled nose into the soft skin under West's jaw. “Come on ya big lump, ah can't carry ya back on me own but I ain' boutta let ya freeze. Please... wake up...” Trembling lips, brief the moment tears caught upon their corners before they fell, points of light glittering in the weak golden glow before more rough become her actions, moving to shove her shoulder into the canine's neck. "I ain' gonna let dis 'appen again, ya ain' fuckin dyin on me watch, ya 'ear me ya fuckin mangy mutt."

[guts]

In those few moments--which truly felt closer to an eternity--she thought she was dead.

For a minute, there was only darkness, terrifying yet comforting all at the same time. It was peaceful. Then, just as she blinked, she was back in that place, back to where it all started. It only took her a split second to realize where she was, and a pit quickly formed in her stomach, dread so heavy settling inside her bones that she hoped it would make her sink into the floorboards.

But she simply stood, staring into the aged space, full of dust and cobwebs and the vaguely translucent form of someone she had seen before. Someone she had barely known before, despite being made from their own flesh and blood. The space around them was cold, dark, like the color had bled out of everything and left only bleakness in it's wake.

"How could you do this?"

West flinches when the words break the air, the soft sobs that occupied the air previously now gone, resorted to simple sniffling. She feels like she's encased in ice.

"No, no--why would you do this?"

She's scrambling for something to say, her tongue struggling behind her lips, but her mouth refuses to move, leaving her to stare wide-eyed at the other canine's back. Only now she realizes how similar their markings are, how they have the same dark stripe riding down their spine.

Then she's staring right into her face, her own mother's sorrowful expression, the true sadness behind her eyes only emphasized by the large gash in her throat and other injuries etched into her body that leaked dark red fluids. Her throat felt clogged and her eyes burned.

The floor under her creaks, then splinters as it gives way, plunging her back into darkness.
---
West wakes with a start, her whole body jolting and her eyes snapping open. The first thing she notices is the pain riding through her body, intense in her ribs. It's difficult to breathe without it hurting. But, more importantly, someone is pressed up against her and speaking. What are they saying? She can't make it out, her brain on overdrive.

"What are you doing?" she asks, her voice dark and slightly threatening, a simple warning to back off.

She can see the tears in the other's eyes, and even though she's puzzled, she doesn't ask.