1st Trial
Zi'da
Arc 716
Tear streaks were still fresh on Alexa's face breaks after the familial fallout. Blood stained her hands and embedded itself deep beneath her fingernails. The taste of iron was unforgettably potent on her tongue, a sweet poison yielded by her newly elongated canine teeth which ripped apart flesh with a short, fiery passion until bright whites were slick with red. Had she the luxury of pausing in her fleeing to spy her face in a passing body of water, Alexa might've noticed Karem had painted her once hazel eyes into fresh golden hues. Like her reflection, the Burhan girl would've been horrified at the revelation she didn't even quite recognize herself anymore in character either. Tala, the large black wolf gifted upon Karem's blessing of Velduris, trotted loyally at the girl's heels while she hopelessly tugged her wagon along behind her. Yet the canine's very presence continued to call into question if the Immortal Huntress's gift was truly much more than a wretched curse.
Her mother's shrieking. Her brother's wide-eyed, shocked face where he laid on the floor where he'd fallen and turned paralyzed by the scene that unfolded after he was struck for the last time. Her father, his agonized yowls filling the room, writhing as he was mauled by the attacker that all but blind-sided him. Alexa was hustling through the thick woods but saw and heard nothing from the present moment. All that remained at the forefront was shame, self-loathing, and the overwhelming desire to run away. Logic was not at the forefront of her traumatized mind just then. Nonetheless, even in her current state of intense distress, Alexa had begun to identify herself for what she now was: an animal. She saw the same conclusion in the eyes of her mother and brother just before she fled the carnage of her making. The Burhan girl had never harmed another person in the way she had that night. She was dangerous, and a thing that no longer belonged among the good people of the village that were practically extended family. For what she'd done, she belonged among no one at all.
Somewhere far west of the village the girl had little choice but to retire. The sun had long since faded over the horizon, leaving little more than moonlight to valiantly cut through the forest to its floor. As though only distant memory had been guiding her, Alexa recognized she'd inadvertently led herself back to the very place she'd visited far earlier that day: the very place Karem had marked her. Alexa dropped her hold on the pull wagon and dropped down with her back against the rocky face beside her. Tala put her nose to the ground, undoubtedly content to take in the dying scent of the long-gone Immortal and her pack. Alexa buried her head in her blood-dried hands.
Crying won't help, the logical recesses of her mind reasoned despite the tears that fell anyways. Tala's claws clicked against the rocky terrain to signal her approach. Alexa lifted her head and quickly wiped her eyes with the blood-less skin of her wrists. Even with her thick coat the blistering wind chilled her violently. "You need shelter. It's too cold and we're too exposed to just sit out here," Tala communicated, once again surprising the girl that her companion could silently communicate such messages for her reception alone. She sniffed and nodded. Even as a native to the harsh region, she had no illusions about how quickly the elements could kill her out here if something else prowling the forest didn't first.
Zi'da
Arc 716
Tear streaks were still fresh on Alexa's face breaks after the familial fallout. Blood stained her hands and embedded itself deep beneath her fingernails. The taste of iron was unforgettably potent on her tongue, a sweet poison yielded by her newly elongated canine teeth which ripped apart flesh with a short, fiery passion until bright whites were slick with red. Had she the luxury of pausing in her fleeing to spy her face in a passing body of water, Alexa might've noticed Karem had painted her once hazel eyes into fresh golden hues. Like her reflection, the Burhan girl would've been horrified at the revelation she didn't even quite recognize herself anymore in character either. Tala, the large black wolf gifted upon Karem's blessing of Velduris, trotted loyally at the girl's heels while she hopelessly tugged her wagon along behind her. Yet the canine's very presence continued to call into question if the Immortal Huntress's gift was truly much more than a wretched curse.
Her mother's shrieking. Her brother's wide-eyed, shocked face where he laid on the floor where he'd fallen and turned paralyzed by the scene that unfolded after he was struck for the last time. Her father, his agonized yowls filling the room, writhing as he was mauled by the attacker that all but blind-sided him. Alexa was hustling through the thick woods but saw and heard nothing from the present moment. All that remained at the forefront was shame, self-loathing, and the overwhelming desire to run away. Logic was not at the forefront of her traumatized mind just then. Nonetheless, even in her current state of intense distress, Alexa had begun to identify herself for what she now was: an animal. She saw the same conclusion in the eyes of her mother and brother just before she fled the carnage of her making. The Burhan girl had never harmed another person in the way she had that night. She was dangerous, and a thing that no longer belonged among the good people of the village that were practically extended family. For what she'd done, she belonged among no one at all.
Somewhere far west of the village the girl had little choice but to retire. The sun had long since faded over the horizon, leaving little more than moonlight to valiantly cut through the forest to its floor. As though only distant memory had been guiding her, Alexa recognized she'd inadvertently led herself back to the very place she'd visited far earlier that day: the very place Karem had marked her. Alexa dropped her hold on the pull wagon and dropped down with her back against the rocky face beside her. Tala put her nose to the ground, undoubtedly content to take in the dying scent of the long-gone Immortal and her pack. Alexa buried her head in her blood-dried hands.
Crying won't help, the logical recesses of her mind reasoned despite the tears that fell anyways. Tala's claws clicked against the rocky terrain to signal her approach. Alexa lifted her head and quickly wiped her eyes with the blood-less skin of her wrists. Even with her thick coat the blistering wind chilled her violently. "You need shelter. It's too cold and we're too exposed to just sit out here," Tala communicated, once again surprising the girl that her companion could silently communicate such messages for her reception alone. She sniffed and nodded. Even as a native to the harsh region, she had no illusions about how quickly the elements could kill her out here if something else prowling the forest didn't first.