Blackbeak Bluff Kicking The Dirt

she was still shaken by her encounter with arrille, but she was going to be damned if she crumbled like a little girl and nursed her wounds. no, she was a sailor - salt coursed as freely in her veins as it choked the sea -- she would not let this loss blemish her reputation.

she knew raptor was worried, and as she licked her lips she tasted the iron clot of blood; it was thick on her tongue. for a moment she wanted to see her reflection and see how gruesome she looked in blood, even if most of it was her own. feigning casual indifference she rolled her shoulder at his concern and strolled toward the beach with a nonchalant tone: "yeah, you're right." 

the water was sharp and bracing as it hit her limbs, and she attempted to hide her gingerness by sucking a deep breath and diving into the ice-cold sheet of water. it stunned her more than the fight did and she rose for air gasping, her fur soggy but most of the blood gone. she repeated this bobbing process several times before she returned to the sand, shaking herself free of water with a slight grin. she would surely be sore tomorrow, but at least she had imparted some injuries in payback. "what the fuck was that guy's problem?" she attempted in a joke, hoping raptor would quickly realize she was just fine and stop looking at her so worriedly.