Of all the things she had anticipated, this was not one of them. She attempted to remember just how she had gotten here, into this predicament, finding the timeline of events a bit blurry and uncertain, like a car wreck. Exactly like a car wreck.
If only she knew what a car wreck was. Then she might have had an adequate metaphor for her attempt to do the potentially life threatening and mystical thing because this was an absolute car wreck.
And yet that second-wind terror had abandoned her, Mel stood wrapped protectively around the figurine, her expression one of bewildered confusion as she found herself being stroked like some sort of tiny adorable creature. How insulting! She longed in a deep and primal way to be free, tension hardening the scant muscle beneath her skin and boring but infinitely better fitting clothing. She tucked her chin as the petting continued, looking around for some answers, maybe some external source of resolve. She wasn't entirely positive that she wanted help, the secretive nature of the shrine putting her on guard - with the recent political upheaval she worried now more than ever about all those laws she didn't quite know. What if it had been intentionally forgotten? She was doing better, yes - worlds better than she had been when she arrived, her injuries mostly gone save for the deepest and darkest of bruises, though that didn't mean that it looked good.
Pretty she might have been, but now she looked more like some sort of cautionary tale about maybe not going on that big adventure. The face was as good as it could be, much of it healed though her once corrupted flesh had struggled to accept the help. It was a drawn out process in the end, more mundane than not, leaving her with bits and pieces yet on the mend, the eye the worst of it in her opinion, acting as a major source of her major frustrations, obviously and hideously sightless in her opinion, the pupil vast and dark, nearly engulfing her entire iris. The bone around it had mostly knit, as had the wicked gash that trailed from her hairline down across her cheek and nose but the injury had forever, ever so slightly, ruined that part of her face in a way. Turning the eyepatch down from where it had flipped up on her forehead during the brief and one-sided struggle, the staring eye she'd stitched into the patch in silver thread glittered and winked in the dim light.
Her patience wore out about then, her expression hardening as she grabbed his hand, giving it a firm but not painful squeeze and pressed it back into his chest as a wordless but unmistakable order for him to keep his hands to himself. She was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt if only because this just seemed like another day in paradise after learning of dozens of accounts of others arrival here. If only because he didn't seem to dangerous. If only because a struggle might damage the shrine or otherwise upset the god. "Don't touch anything unless I tell you. Do you understand? Don't touch and you must be quiet-" she pressed a finger to her lips, shushing him as she delivered her instructions in a low whisper. Meanwhile, the figurine was beginning to bite into her palm and belly.
With a grunt of effort she pulled her hand and the plant thing free, inspecting it closely for damage before dusting the place where it had sat and returning it there.
Vynter
If only she knew what a car wreck was. Then she might have had an adequate metaphor for her attempt to do the potentially life threatening and mystical thing because this was an absolute car wreck.
And yet that second-wind terror had abandoned her, Mel stood wrapped protectively around the figurine, her expression one of bewildered confusion as she found herself being stroked like some sort of tiny adorable creature. How insulting! She longed in a deep and primal way to be free, tension hardening the scant muscle beneath her skin and boring but infinitely better fitting clothing. She tucked her chin as the petting continued, looking around for some answers, maybe some external source of resolve. She wasn't entirely positive that she wanted help, the secretive nature of the shrine putting her on guard - with the recent political upheaval she worried now more than ever about all those laws she didn't quite know. What if it had been intentionally forgotten? She was doing better, yes - worlds better than she had been when she arrived, her injuries mostly gone save for the deepest and darkest of bruises, though that didn't mean that it looked good.
Pretty she might have been, but now she looked more like some sort of cautionary tale about maybe not going on that big adventure. The face was as good as it could be, much of it healed though her once corrupted flesh had struggled to accept the help. It was a drawn out process in the end, more mundane than not, leaving her with bits and pieces yet on the mend, the eye the worst of it in her opinion, acting as a major source of her major frustrations, obviously and hideously sightless in her opinion, the pupil vast and dark, nearly engulfing her entire iris. The bone around it had mostly knit, as had the wicked gash that trailed from her hairline down across her cheek and nose but the injury had forever, ever so slightly, ruined that part of her face in a way. Turning the eyepatch down from where it had flipped up on her forehead during the brief and one-sided struggle, the staring eye she'd stitched into the patch in silver thread glittered and winked in the dim light.
Her patience wore out about then, her expression hardening as she grabbed his hand, giving it a firm but not painful squeeze and pressed it back into his chest as a wordless but unmistakable order for him to keep his hands to himself. She was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt if only because this just seemed like another day in paradise after learning of dozens of accounts of others arrival here. If only because he didn't seem to dangerous. If only because a struggle might damage the shrine or otherwise upset the god. "Don't touch anything unless I tell you. Do you understand? Don't touch and you must be quiet-" she pressed a finger to her lips, shushing him as she delivered her instructions in a low whisper. Meanwhile, the figurine was beginning to bite into her palm and belly.
With a grunt of effort she pulled her hand and the plant thing free, inspecting it closely for damage before dusting the place where it had sat and returning it there.
Vynter
