Maea
And I never know what to say
'Til I'm already walking away
Time might as well have ceased to pass as far as Maea was aware. The world had condensed into the ground immediately beneath her paws, the cluster of rocks behind her back and the orange menace before her. For a while longer she kept coming, and each time it took a bit longer for her to catch her breath, to get her feet beneath her and summon the will to rise. Pain grew from flashes of agony into a maelstrom, as bruises layered atop bruises and the number of cuts, scrapes, bites and scratches grew in number. A cut above one eye turned her face into a mask of blood, partially blinding her; the woods were quiet, save for the huff of strained breath, the occasional yowl of pain and another thud as a body connected with the ground.
There was no real defeat in the moment between flight and failure. Only the slight stagger as she struggled to get up one more time, and the empty gasps for air when her legs caved and finally wouldn't support her anymore. She didn't intentionally release her shift; it slipped from her grasp and like her body was a lake into which a boulder had been plunged, her form rippled and changed back into the ancient body she had been granted.
And what a mess she was. Bloody, bruised, hair and limbs caked with dirt - and she kept trying to rise, despite her blacjening eyes being glazed over, nearing unconsciousness. It wasn't over until Danta said so. Until he was satisfied... she would. Not. Quit.
There was no real defeat in the moment between flight and failure. Only the slight stagger as she struggled to get up one more time, and the empty gasps for air when her legs caved and finally wouldn't support her anymore. She didn't intentionally release her shift; it slipped from her grasp and like her body was a lake into which a boulder had been plunged, her form rippled and changed back into the ancient body she had been granted.
And what a mess she was. Bloody, bruised, hair and limbs caked with dirt - and she kept trying to rise, despite her blacjening eyes being glazed over, nearing unconsciousness. It wasn't over until Danta said so. Until he was satisfied... she would. Not. Quit.
Wanna punch you in the face
But I won't, but I might, but I won't
