It’s a few hours before daybreak that Mallaidh finally has purpose in her steps. Even under the coat of darkness, she finds the familiar path to the fallen tree she’d found long ago. Each passing minute the sky lightens by a fraction as the cusp of dawn peeks over and the sound of seagulls stirring on the beach beckon their first meal of the day. All she wants to do is whip them from existence and sleep until she stops existing, too.
After Blixen found her, she hadn’t been able to sleep much and wanders through the redwood forest as much as her ankle will allow. After a while, it doubled in size from the stress and she moved with a more pronounced limp. The scabs forming over her shoulder remain intact but she struggles with her gait and she only feels relief when the log finally comes into view.
Mallaidh does not ask to enter, the familiar scent of Rose taking over her nostrils. A heavy sigh escapes her as she works her way in carefully, dipping in and making room for herself against the other body in the first light of morning.
She had stopped by
@Portia's den yesterday for advice on how to handle Furi's ankle and, after receiving guidance from the more experienced healer, Rose had set off to gather the necessary materials she didn't already have stashed away. It had taken her nearly all day to find what she needed thanks to winter slowly but surely withering away most of the plants she'd required. It had only been when the last light faded from the evening sky had she gathered all the herbs and tucked them away in her stores for safe keeping.
She had planned to give her friend a visit last night to check up on her and see how she was doing, both with her injuries and just life in general, but was too worn out to go searching for her and decided to wait for tomorrow in the end. So, it came as a pleasant surprise to the redhead when she felt a warm body press against her this morning and without bothering to open her eyes, because honestly who else would it be besides Furi, she offered a jumbled
"good morning" while shifting a bit to make herself more comfortable.
Rose moves a little when she tries to make herself comfortable. It takes a little work to make it work and she winces a time or two because of her ankle but finally she’s settled and resting up close with the girl. As he heart thumps against her chest, she feels things get more complicated by the second but she’s able to ignore it for a while and feel the comfort the red girl leaves with her. Mallaidh shifts a little when Rose speaks and she mumbles something that resembles the same sentiment.
She burrows into Rose a little bit and takes a deep breath. If Rose says anything else, they call on sleeping ears as her breathing turns into a slow rhythm, the weight of everything shedding as she drifts off. Here, nothing can hurt her and she can only get better. Mallaidh feels she can sleep for an eternity if given the chance, trying to relieve herself of not only the physical drain seeing Roarke had, but the emotional and the quietening of her mother’s voice. Her brother has taken a lot from her and she’s afraid he’s taken her mother away a second time and she doesn’t know whether to feel sadness or relief.
It isn’t for several hours, before the sun sits directly over them, that she finally stirs and starts to stretch out her long legs (which obviously do more harm than good in the trunk of the tree.