Dragoncrest Cliffs Blackpine

The man tried to dissuade fate from turning the unfortunate girl's bad luck upon himself, which was a superstitious act all its own, but perhaps it was what kept the girl's body from waking during the brunt of his work.

It wasn't until he had grasped at the ginger of her scruff that something changed — not enough of a change for anything impactful, mind you, but a change nonetheless.

As he pulled at her scruff and the limp weight of her body dragged against the sand, her eyes cracked open. The first tug had been forceful enough to bring her back to herself; subsequent pulling and hoisting at her tender skin felt explosive to her, like a wet log thrown on a fire and forced to burst apart.

When he had finally stopped tugging she was certainly awake — but to say she was coherent was a far cry from the truth. She let out a banshee cry and thrashed away from his touch, eyes wide and wild, while the voice that came from her was an unnaturally dry wheeze.