WHO: Athessa, Madi, Lucien, Skull, and YOU!! WHAT: catch-all WHEN: mostly Satinalia and later WHERE: Kirkwall and The Gallows NOTES: post-murderhaus h/c is gonna go here
"And then..." Her voice cracks, and she clears her throat, taking a moment to pause the very important task of petting the dog man man dog to ash the joint and take another hit. The exhale is tremulous, testament to her failed attempts at regaining lost composure.
"I had to bury other elves at that Inn. I didn't even know their names; just the gods tattooed on their faces. Faces I can't— can't stop seeing, now. Cut up and sewn back together and stuffed like— like—"
Blinking through the tears isn't making it any easier to see, so she just shuts her eyes and buries her face in the dog's fur, hooking her arms around him. It's not quite the gut-wrenching sobs she had released upon Colin in the apothecary after he healed her shoulder, but between the cold and the images fresh in her mind she still shakes.
It feels like a long time, but in actuality is only a handful of minutes spent crying into the dog's neck fur, periodically wiping tears away with her sleeve in an attempt to keep him from getting uncomfortably soaked and snotty.
When she manages to speak again, it's to say something that only makes her cry more:
"One of them looked like my mum."
Though she still can't be certain that's true, or if it was a trick of the light or of her own mind under duress, the impact was the same.
A cry of reasonable duration later, Athessa's breathing slows, steadies. She loosens her hold on Mado, smoothing down his fur and making an attempt to wipe any wetness off of him with her sleeve.
"Sorry. I uh. Sprung a leak, there."
A sad attempt at humor, before she smushes the dog's cheeks and scratches his ears again.
Contentedly smushed, the dog's mouth falls open in a friendly smile, his tail wagging again before he closes his mouth long enough to boop Athessa's nose.
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"I had to bury other elves at that Inn. I didn't even know their names; just the gods tattooed on their faces. Faces I can't— can't stop seeing, now. Cut up and sewn back together and stuffed like— like—"
Blinking through the tears isn't making it any easier to see, so she just shuts her eyes and buries her face in the dog's fur, hooking her arms around him. It's not quite the gut-wrenching sobs she had released upon Colin in the apothecary after he healed her shoulder, but between the cold and the images fresh in her mind she still shakes.
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When she manages to speak again, it's to say something that only makes her cry more:
"One of them looked like my mum."
Though she still can't be certain that's true, or if it was a trick of the light or of her own mind under duress, the impact was the same.
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"Sorry. I uh. Sprung a leak, there."
A sad attempt at humor, before she smushes the dog's cheeks and scratches his ears again.
"Thanks for...listening, I guess."
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"Let's go back inside, it's fucking freezing out here."
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