( open ) black tears on my freckles

[swordproof]

WHO: Six and you!
WHAT: Adalia is gone and things suck
WHEN: Post-Battle
WHERE: Gallows
NOTES: N/A, just sad bean

She has not seen her sister since before the battle.

Six's movement has been limited: her leg is still not entirely healed and the medical attention she was given was enough to get her walking, but she refused much else. She walks with a limp and a crutch, her eyes darting here and there as she moves around the Gallows, seeking out anyone who might be able to help her. She doesn't recognise everyone, even now, months behind her, and there's an edge of uncertainty that buries down inside of her, like a gnawing feeling in her gut.

She spends hours walking around, checking rooms, peering here and there. Her leg begins to ache, an agonising throb that makes her feel intense and pained, but she does not give up. Two wanders at her side, sniffing here and there, trying to find some trace of Adalia to follow. The fact that there is nothing makes her uncomfortable, and the sourness continues, settling on her face as she moves forward and ends up slumped in the corner of the training area.

With her broken leg and her cuts and bruises she can't lift a sword, but she can watch, set and a touch shattered, her frown set on her face and her eyes closing for long periods of time. There is no reason for Adalia to be on a mission, no sign of her being sent somewhere... There is no explanation that she wants to consider. It pains her.

Comments

[swordproof]

It's an expression she herself is somewhat familiar with - she's not happy and she understands what it means to try and bury that somewhere. On her back the phantom pain of her scar thrums through her, eyes downcast.

"Healing. The battle was not easy."

[onlyhymns]

"No."
It wasn't, and Cade knows that the aftermath is often harder. It's easy enough to lose oneself in the thick of battle, but it's in the quiet after, wondering what could have been done differently or less painfully, when the real suffering begins.

"...you're intact," he says faintly, glancing her up and down and offering a sad smile, "that's something."

[swordproof]

It could have been worse and she knows that: she might not have come out with her life. In the end she had, but some of the losses... There is no Adalia now, whether because of a Rift or the battle, and she is not comforted with the knowledge that her sister may be alive elsewhere.

Little will ease that burden.

"Mostly," she agrees with a nod of her head, stretching her bad leg out carefully. "I am alive, and I am thankful for that. I," and here she look a little pensive, "have some apologies to make but am otherwise unscathed."

[onlyhymns]

A hesitation, and then a nod. Cade understands the feeling well, even if he has nothing further to add.

He stands for a time, looking out in the same direction as Six, keeping her company in silence.