Stone Circle the sky is bruised purple like wine

It is not until they leave the hollow that she realizes where she is. The last few days have been a haze and she’d forgotten where she’d been. When they get closer to Easthollow, she is struck with familiarity as the pieces fall in place. She tenses, staggering a few forced steps of only because she is being pushed by the invisible force field of Wardruna. If they are here, then Morningside is not far away—something pricks at the back of her mind but does not succeed in her remembrance.

As it becomes evident it is Easthollow he is directing her, she comes to a stop, mumbling quietly under her breath. No, no, no. The words are too soft to reach audible ears but he takes note of her sudden agitation. Fear grips her throat but it is not necessarily sparked by her newest companion but the fact she realizes she could very much lose. If it is Valette that still resides here, if she recognizes her, she is likely doomed. The last time she’d been here had been awful, feeling a shutter run down her spine again as she thinks about Steady and their loss and her head lowers in devastation.

It has been so long since she’d felt much of anything that she barely noticed Wardruna getting close until he whispers his threatening words into her ear. Her ears fall back against her head as she realizes the predicament she is in, catching a glimpse of his expression only briefly. Her mouth is still dry but she tries to swallow the lump in her throat anyway, shrinking back to show she submits. She does not stand a chance against him and she can only hope for the best: that Valette does not even recognize her, her appearance and scent drastically different in her ailments, and she’ll be shunned from those healthy enough to survive.