[ The summoning had not gone as planned, Ardyn touching her once again - his corruption trying to cut deeper than his blade. Though she was wounded, she fought back this time. Especially now that she had a better grasp on what she was dealing with. She'd cracked the hold the daemon had on the man, though the progress she'd made was barely enough to reverse any of the effects.
Everything beyond that moment felt more like a dream than reality, certain she was seconds away from her final breath escaping in the service of her King. She'd seen her duty through to the end, had sacrificed mind, body, and spirit to ensure his success. She'd communed with the Astrals despite the heavy cost and had faced her public challenges with an even tone and an air of hope for those looking on in fear... Even if the fear was recognized on a far more realistic level than those around her might believe. They didn't know her struggles, didn't know the hell she'd experienced over the past twelve years of her life - the amount of physical and emotional pain she'd learned to endure in silence so as to maintain her professional image. Fit the mold so many tried to shove her in without looking to see if the piece was correct or already damaged.
A part of her hadn't expected Titan to respond to her request for aid to allow her time to pass Noctis the ring, taking it as an indication that she wasn't going to be walking away from this battle. She'd said her goodbyes to Noctis and had slowly started to fade into the warm embrace of the night before it was ripped away. The gentle descent had twisted and contorted into bursts of pain and screaming. It felt as though she'd been ripped in half, but the torture was not completely her own. There were flashes of moments, dark whispers and corruption seeping out of every pore - no longer able to heal those who need it most. The power to purge the scourge from her beloved star slowly perverted itself into a mockery of her station, leaving her abandoned and forgotten in the darkness. Her only companion left eventually was the driving need to consume more and more to make the hurting stop, to become powerful enough to inflict rather than take. To silence the screams scratching at a parched throat only aggravated further by broken sobs begging for relief.
The memory had stayed with her even after she'd been revived, playing over and over in her mind - the only thing having drawn her from it the first time being the soft barks of Pryna, trying to hold onto her and keep her alive. Fighting off the disgusting touch of Ardyn and eventually growing loud enough to overpower the laugh that echoed as she left. She knows that might have been one of the reasons beyond her companion's tie to her life force that the white dog was so incredibly drained. Facing a daemon fueled nightmare-scape was a burden for even the most ardent of souls, she would owe Pryna a debt she fears she can never fully repay.
It's one of the reasons she'd refused to allow the doctors to remove the dog from the room, Pryna safely curled up on her bed and in almost constant contact. When there's a knock on the door, Umbra's the only of the two to respond - moving to put himself between the stranger and Luna with a soft, protective growl. She shifts into a seated position with a strained groan, her stitches pulling painfully as she moves. ]
It's alright Umbra, he's a friend.
[ The words ring true and perhaps it's the brutal exhaustion or the pain cutting through the medication, but she can't hold back the flood of emotions at seeing him or the way her voice cracks on the last word. If she could've gotten out of the bed, she would have to run to him - not realizing just how much she'd actually missed him once they'd parted... Or the way he'd been in the forefront of her prayers for his safekeeping despite barely knowing him. She'd felt connected to him in a way that was foreign, but so incredibly reassuring. For the first time in a long time, she'd felt like she could be herself around him.
She manages two words before the walls crumbled around her, the burden of the last few weeks finally coming to a head. ]
no subject
Everything beyond that moment felt more like a dream than reality, certain she was seconds away from her final breath escaping in the service of her King. She'd seen her duty through to the end, had sacrificed mind, body, and spirit to ensure his success. She'd communed with the Astrals despite the heavy cost and had faced her public challenges with an even tone and an air of hope for those looking on in fear... Even if the fear was recognized on a far more realistic level than those around her might believe. They didn't know her struggles, didn't know the hell she'd experienced over the past twelve years of her life - the amount of physical and emotional pain she'd learned to endure in silence so as to maintain her professional image. Fit the mold so many tried to shove her in without looking to see if the piece was correct or already damaged.
A part of her hadn't expected Titan to respond to her request for aid to allow her time to pass Noctis the ring, taking it as an indication that she wasn't going to be walking away from this battle. She'd said her goodbyes to Noctis and had slowly started to fade into the warm embrace of the night before it was ripped away. The gentle descent had twisted and contorted into bursts of pain and screaming. It felt as though she'd been ripped in half, but the torture was not completely her own. There were flashes of moments, dark whispers and corruption seeping out of every pore - no longer able to heal those who need it most. The power to purge the scourge from her beloved star slowly perverted itself into a mockery of her station, leaving her abandoned and forgotten in the darkness. Her only companion left eventually was the driving need to consume more and more to make the hurting stop, to become powerful enough to inflict rather than take. To silence the screams scratching at a parched throat only aggravated further by broken sobs begging for relief.
The memory had stayed with her even after she'd been revived, playing over and over in her mind - the only thing having drawn her from it the first time being the soft barks of Pryna, trying to hold onto her and keep her alive. Fighting off the disgusting touch of Ardyn and eventually growing loud enough to overpower the laugh that echoed as she left. She knows that might have been one of the reasons beyond her companion's tie to her life force that the white dog was so incredibly drained. Facing a daemon fueled nightmare-scape was a burden for even the most ardent of souls, she would owe Pryna a debt she fears she can never fully repay.
It's one of the reasons she'd refused to allow the doctors to remove the dog from the room, Pryna safely curled up on her bed and in almost constant contact. When there's a knock on the door, Umbra's the only of the two to respond - moving to put himself between the stranger and Luna with a soft, protective growl. She shifts into a seated position with a strained groan, her stitches pulling painfully as she moves. ]
It's alright Umbra, he's a friend.
[ The words ring true and perhaps it's the brutal exhaustion or the pain cutting through the medication, but she can't hold back the flood of emotions at seeing him or the way her voice cracks on the last word. If she could've gotten out of the bed, she would have to run to him - not realizing just how much she'd actually missed him once they'd parted... Or the way he'd been in the forefront of her prayers for his safekeeping despite barely knowing him. She'd felt connected to him in a way that was foreign, but so incredibly reassuring. For the first time in a long time, she'd felt like she could be herself around him.
She manages two words before the walls crumbled around her, the burden of the last few weeks finally coming to a head. ]
I'm sorry.