22. Return [Voice/Action]

[corrinesbell]

[It’s hard to notice at first, with how muffled it is: the sound of short, sharp breaths. It’s a steady sound, one that seems more like background noise, like static, than anything unusual. Only after several minutes of this does the noise change; following a soft thump, it gets louder]

D-Damn it…

[Slowly, she rises again, not even bothering to brush off this new layer of snow. She walks with one arm tight around her ribs, and the other one against her side, numb fingers holding onto the book. She wants to throw it – she would throw it, given the strength, if it wasn’t the only thing that could let people find her. She holds no illusions about getting back to the village herself, this time. It’s too far…like this.]

But…the snow…it’s…

[Another soft thump. This time, though, she isn’t getting up.]

I…I’m…it’s c-cold. …S-Sorry…but at l-least...

[[ooc: Ah, it seems to be Monday. On this side of the line, anyway. Sheena’s been kicking to get out this whole time, and the inside of my head was starting to break, so she’s back.]]

Comments

[voice post]

[corrinesbell]

They...it's broken.

[better get there soon, guys...]

[voice post]

[salvationfound.livejournal.com]

...Damn.

[quickens his speed at this point, using what's left of his angelic hearing and sight to find out where Sheena is]

[voice post]

[corrinesbell]

Heh...yeah...

[voice post]

[kid-in-red.livejournal.com]

[running along after Kratos, now extra eager to find her quickly]

[voice post]

[salvationfound.livejournal.com]

[...Lloyd is fast. But he uses that to keep searching, and after a moment, he stops in his tracks when he spots the distant and snow covered form of Sheena lying in the snow]

Lloyd!

[voice post]

[corrinesbell]

[what they'll find...goodness, I'm using shrunk brackets now...anyway...

What they'll find is Sheena, on her side in the snow, one hand on the book and the other wrapped around her stomach. She's very pale, and her eyes are closed. Her lips have a sort of blue tint to them, too, and her breathing is very shallow]

[voice post]

[kid-in-red.livejournal.com]

Dammit... Sheena, hang in there!

[Lloyd kneels down beside her, glancing to make sure there's no open bleeding wounds]

Dad, we're gonna have to carry her...

[voice post]

[salvationfound.livejournal.com]

Agreed.

[gives her a quick glance as well, and he hesitates before he slips one arm under her shoulder and the other under her knees, then lifts her up, making sure her wings don't touch his body]

Lloyd, you'll have to lead us back. I can try to heal her like this.

[corrinesbell]

[sort of wakes up a little at movement]

'm okay...'s t-too much...mana...

[which sounds like incoherent babbling, doesn't it?]

[kid-in-red.livejournal.com]

[running ahead like a bright red beacon, shoving tree branches out of the way for them]

Dammit, this is worse than she was last time...

[salvationfound.livejournal.com]

[following and making sure to keep an eye on Lloyd, though he makes sure not to go too fast for fear of jostling Sheena too much, all the while sending a healing stream of mana to her body]

It's because of the snow. The temperature's decreased lately... and it looks as if they let her go further away than last time.

[corrinesbell]

[blinks her eyes open a little, registering blurs of purple and red]

K-Kratos...Lloyd.

[kid-in-red.livejournal.com]

Stay awake, Sheena.

[because amazingly he remembers enough of what Raine told him about surviving in Flanoir]

[salvationfound.livejournal.com]

How far are we from the house, Lloyd?

[just gonna keep focusing on his limited healing power]

[corrinesbell]

[already looks like she wants to pass out again, but she won't. She refuses]

Heh. Th-they...made a m-mistake...

[kid-in-red.livejournal.com]

We're almost there.

[and a few steps later, they're out of the trees near the backyard]

[salvationfound.livejournal.com]

What sort of mistake did they make?

[asking mostly to keep Sheena talking, but is also genuinely curious and glad that they're near the house now - the healing's making him tired, though he'd never show it]

[corrinesbell]

L-letting me--
[a sharp cry as her broken wing jars against Kratos (probably her fault for trying to move); that's the end of that conversation]

[kid-in-red.livejournal.com]

[Lloyd opens the door for them as they finally get to the house]

...Dad, how are you supposed to set a broken wing?

[salvationfound.livejournal.com]

[lets himself in and frowns at that question]

Let's work on warming her up first.

[because he'd rather not tell Lloyd that resetting a wing would take a lot of pain yet]

[corrinesbell]

[registers some kind of problem with that answer]

's that bad, huh?

[looks right up at him for as long as she can before closing her eyes again]

[kid-in-red.livejournal.com]

[goes to try and make himself useful by getting some blankets and then putting more wood on the fire]

[salvationfound.livejournal.com]

[doesn't even bother answering that, and he waits until Lloyd has a good spot ready in front of the fire before he sets Sheena down there]

Once you warm up, we'll bring you to the clinic.

[and this is the point where he'll sit in one of the chairs and rest his head in his hands since he kind of overdid it with his healing powers]

[corrinesbell]

[can't hold herself up - she's exhausted, and shivering hard now - so she curls up on her side, still holding her ribs with one hand]

[kid-in-red.livejournal.com]

[Lloyd is still concerned about Sheena but he can't help but glance over at Kratos, surprised by how tired he looks, since it's Kratos and Lloyd could count the number of times he'd seen him displaying exhaustion on one hand.]

...You okay, Dad?