Long Way Down

He laughed and heat flooded her face, embarrassed and ashamed. The laughter was cut short suddenly, though, and out of the corner of her eye she saw him frown. She was at a loss for what to do, unsure of how she was supposed to conduct herself outside of her former captors influence. He sighed, and her head dropped further, momentarily worried he was becoming irritated with her, but rather than walking away or moving closer, he laid down. She let out a small breath, the slightest bit of tension in her shoulders releasing, though she was a far cry from relaxed. He spoke, dismissing the matter of blame entirely before introducing himself. She prepared to respond with her own name, but his question stole the breath from her lungs.

Her head snapped up suddenly, eyes wide as she looked at him again. Had Kyros sent envoys to alert packs here to look out for her? Surely his reach could not be so vast, but telling herself that did nothing to slow the frantic beating of her heart in her chest, and it did nothing to calm the breaths that seemed to come quick and shallow. Her vision swam and she fell back into a sitting position, defeat finding her as her shoulders slumped, as if ready to be hauled off at any moment. ”Is he here?" Her voice trembled and she fought against the overwhelming urge to cry. Everything that had been apart of her before him had been stripped away, she had hoped to gain some of that back on her own and she could feel the freedom she had gained for herself slipping by with each moment. She would not weep, though. She would tremble and cower, but she would not weep.

"Speech" || Thoughts