Reflection of Darkness
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Polishing the stars. Well, somebody has to do it; they're looking a little bit dull.
Posts: 2,983
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When Calentoliel awoke, it was already daylight. The throbbing pain in her head reminded her what had happened the previous night. Calentoliel sat up, rubbing her eyes to clear her vision. The pounding in her head was so painful, she could not think clearly. She brought her hand to the back of her head, where it hurt most. Just touching the wound disgusted Calentoliel. It was deep and though the bleeding had stopped, it was evident that she lost a large amount of blood. Her hair was matted in it, all sticky and tangled, causing her hair to be much heavier than usual.
Calentoliel was furious with the sneaky, dark creature that had attacked her. More than ever she wanted to hunt it down and kill it. How the thing stole her voice, Calentoliel did not know, but she knew that she must get her voice back before the black beast got hold of it.
But that would have to wait. Calentoliel was too weak to hunt down anything. First and foremost, she had to find her companions. Something had happened to them last night, and Calentoliel prayed that they were all right. She was sure that they were in better condition than her, even Mattius who possibly had already reunited with them.
Figures, Calentoliel thought. She was foolish to have run off in the first place, and now she would have to find a way to get back to them, as weak as she was.
Very slowly, Calentoliel stood up. She stumbled a few steps, then fell back against a tree, vomiting. She did not realize how dizzy she was. How was she supposed to continue this way?
She sat back down and leaned against the tree, breathing hard. Calentoliel was frightened by the fact that she could not even walk a few steps. But she would not give up. She couldn’t. Calentoliel didn’t even want to think of the possibilities of what would happen if she stayed here another night. She would have to go on, whatever sacrifices it may take.
Calentoliel stripped off her layers of clothing until she was down to a light tunic and leggings. She kept her cloak, for she knew she would later regret it if she didn't. She threw off all her weapons, except for her sword and a small knife. Whatever Calentoliel didn't need, she took off. Being as weak as she was, she did not need any unecessary weight.
Then hesitantly, Calentoliel took the small knife and cut off several strands of her hair. She was resistant to doing this, but she knew that her matted hair was adding too much extra weight that she did not need. Instead of cutting it, Calentoliel wished to wash her hair and clean her wound before it became infected, but there was no water nearby.
Once she was done cutting, her hair was a shorter, uneven, and still matted. But through it all, the hacking of her hair proved quite useful, for Calentoliel's head felt much lighter and the pain eased a bit.
For the second time, Calentoliel stood up. Still holding on to the tree, she took a few steps without stumbling. She paused, steadying herself, then let go of the tree. Gingerly, she took a few more steps without the support of the tree. Oh, how Calentoliel's head throbbed and she could feel blood trickling down the back of her neck as her wound reopened, but she did not fall.
Taking a deep breath, Calentoliel regained her strength. Then, she continued down the trail in search of her friends.
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Nolite te bastardes carborundorum
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