Spirited Away
The darkness felt so warm and welcoming after the last waves of pain began to ebb away. The frigid waters from where she came had done more then numb her pain and the broken bones. It had lulled her into a slumber that brought her to the brink of a realm visited by unfortunate souls. Here, the cold winter winds stirred her pelt and soothed her aching heart. Was she even still alive? Or did the beasts destroy her like the seals they preyed on? She couldn't tell if she was sleeping in a delirious state and still on the ice floe, or if she was dead and this one of those dreams the elders had talked about. The ones that wolves had when they were on the brink of death and saw things, spirits that would either take them away or walk them back home. Either way, she felt...at peace.
At least, until her first step brought her lurching forward. The ground suddenly fell away, and the woman felt like she was falling through eternal darkness. Was she one of the unlucky ones to fall into the pits of the abyss where bad dogs went? Or something else? Heart pounding with fear, the pain would suddenly flare up as she felt the ground move beneath her. Water sucked at her body, replaced by sand shortly after as she felt a force tugging at the back of her neck. A silent cry left burning lungs, her scream very audible in her head yet silent to the world around her. Her chest burned with the weight of the water she inhaled, her leg protesting it's fractured state and her ribs crying out with each breath she tried to take, only to fail.
Choking on the sea water, she coughed and sharply twisted her head around, yanking her scruff from the grasp of whatever had her. It wasn't intentional, but the lurching of her stomach had alerted her of what was to come. And sure enough, sea water began to pour from her mouth. For a long while, she felt like she was going to suffocate on the sea water she was throwing up. And after several choked moments later, her head fell heavily onto the sand, her head pounding violently as her body followed suit with violent shivers. Icy blue gaze looked about unfocused, barely bringing into sight the form of her savior. Or at least, she assumed he was. Her body throbbing with pain, her lungs rasped with each painful breath she took. And still, she would attempt to speak. "H...he..lp.." She had more to say, but she could barely utter that single word without her lungs screaming at her to shut up. Then again, at this point...it was probably very obvious that she needed help. |