broken wings

Sohalia joined Sah at the kitchen table, feeling both clean and very dirty at the same time. Physically, she might now be spotless, wrapped in clean clothes that actually did fit quite well; but she couldn’t have scrubbed her hands enough to wash away the feel of blood on them, and when she closed her eyes she still saw the gush of red across the ivory snow.

”Thank you,” she said as she gathered the hot chocolate in her hands, allowing herself to savor the warmth as it seeped into her hands. Tarak curled up on her lap, jostling her arms out of the way until he’d made himself comfortable and drawing a small, sad smile from his bonded.

Soh took a sip of her hot chocolate and hummed her appreciation, even if it was a little bit muted and not nearly as cheerful as the last time she’d seen Sah. She stared into her cup for a few moments, until the silence became too much to bear. ”I don’t think we meant to trigger a battle,” she said finally. ”We were just seeing if there was anything that could be done, but there was a void-infected yeti, and it was…” She shuddered, unable to think of a word that felt sufficient to describe the terror and desperation that she’d felt out on the tundra.