Dawnlark Plains god, oh my god, where have you been?

how long since she had fallen?

(hours? days?)

a sound stirred beyond the incessant muffling of snow. a figure, hooded in soft gold -- caiaphas' rheumy gaze lifted, a distant spark rekindling in those sunken eyes as she thought of how imperiled she seemed, supine in the snow. a memory filtered out of the fug that snaked in her mind - of sarah, would-be crone killer.

her gums pulled back, yet no sound. her vision was slurry, her head wobbly -- as if balancing that skinbound skull was a coup too weighty for her ailing spine to bear. she blinked once, the rheumy film of her gaze slowly clearing. "water," came her hoarse reply, followed by an airy laugh that was uncannily cut short by sudden silence.