[AW] threnody

[Seraphina]

What had just happened?


One moment, she stood just shy of the teryr; the next, she was thrown aside like a ragdoll, slamming into the rocky canyon walls. How much time passed without her knowledge? She was vaguely aware of a painful throbbing in her skull, blood between her lashes, blood in her teeth, blood on her sides, blood in her hair. She could see the scene laid out in front of her from where she lay in a disfigured heap, head torn open by the rocks and sides just as savaged by the beast’s talons, but she couldn’t process it at all. Though her eyes stared out as what remained of the court put an end to the teryr, blinking frantically and darting all the while as her sides heaved with panicked gasps, she would not have been able to recall exactly what occurred, were you to ask her later. Images were just images, the soft brush of desert heat nothing but a written implication – nothing that happened was happening to her, and she was not there. And yet -


Reality slammed into her like a train, and suddenly she was aware again. With this newfound awareness came an almost overwhelming wave of pain, one which she shouldered with gritted teeth; her eyes remained eerily cool, even as she blinked blood from her lashes, even as she came to the quiet realization that this battle had been won. And by who? Her gaze found the painted stallion. Maxence. Somehow, she had anticipated it – initiative was a powerful force. Even in the wake of this realization, she couldn’t find it in herself to feel anything, not immediately; her thoughts were disjointed, a messy tangle of words and fragments that didn’t connect. It ached. She was not in control of her own mind, and it ached. Careless. She had been careless, and now she was suffering for it.


(Her collar burned. She could feel Viceroy’s disapproval, and that was what ultimately shook her free of her haze.)


By the time she regained her bearings, several of the others had already flooded away from the gory scene. She stumbled up on unsteady, bruised legs; the act of moving sent a ripple of pain through her frame, but it was ignored, dismissed, sent to the back of her mind to be processed at a later time – preferably once she was alone, and capable of seeing about her wounds. (What was it that Viceroy would say, at the end of a battle?) “Gir-tha ziha.” The words were barely a whisper, to herself more than anything – her tongue felt muddled, thick and unkempt in her mouth. (Did those words imply glorious victory? A prayer for the departed? “Survival, Sera.”) She stepped forward on wobbling limbs and nearly keeled forward, still batting blood from her lashes. The world blurred.


A deep breath, and then she was forward – no hesitation, no tension, no frailty. Her movements were fluid, though each step burnt, and her gaze was thoughtful. She eyed their new leader for a long moment, then offered a simple nod of acknowledgement.


Solis bless your steps, Maxence. Her gaze flitted across the warriors still gathered, and she mentally ran through the catalogue of Solterran faces that she knew. With what I have seen of us, you may need it.


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<3

I'm going to assume that sera popped out of the last part of this fight because she took a pretty bad hit to the head and went into shock or something IDK

I just kinda...added the theoretical damage together? So she's Not Having a Good Time.