sitting in silence

*Laeta* · 11-14-2021, 10:41 PM

The woman tried not to flinch too much in pain as Syanna proceeded with her examination, gently feeling her limbs and body from the toes up. Her joints ached, though less severely. It made the process a bit more bearable. Mel stayed close by, watching the physician with his own brow knitted with concern. She felt her legs, and when she didn't seem to find anything there, she probed her hips and then her back. Though sore, nothing seemed remarkable, and nothing this far appeared to explain the woman's ailment. Lae stared blankly, feeling this atmosphere grow heavy. Something was definitely wrong - she has nothing broken in her legs, nor was it her joints. What else could it be? The crackling of the fire did little to settle the silence as the physician soon began palpating the paralyzed woman's neck.

Laeta cringed as Syanna felt the bones in her neck, and a strange sensation overcame her. Her..bones..were loose? It certainly wasn't a good feeling, and something within her knew that something was very, very wrong. Far beyond what she and Mel initially tried to assume. Ruby eyes flickered up to the wolf above her, and the grim expression upon the physician's face was more than telling. Mel looked downcast, a soft sigh emanating from his lips as he tried his best not to alarm the woman. He assumed she had no clue, but the monochromatic woman had an intuition as sharp as a blade. It wasn't good news.

This was further confirmed when the wolf slide down the bed to sit next to the paralyzed woman, looking at Mel sadly, then facing her. "I found the reason why you can't move your legs, Laeta..." Lae watched the subtleties within the other woman's facial features for any glimmer of hope, but to no avail. Her own heart sank in her chest as Syanna said, "You have a severe injury in your neck. Two of the bones of your spine have been broken, pushing them out of place. It's... honestly a miracle you survived. But I'm afraid there's no way to fix it, and it won't heal on its own."

Mel uttered a soft whimper, but Lae remained silent. Inside, though, she felt resigned. Whatever miniscule fragment of hope within her, the one she held onto so tightly despite all that had happened to her, shattered into a million pieces. If Syanna glanced into her eyes in that moment, whatever faint whisper of optimism she had would fade away, like a candle flickering out. Her expression was blank, her gaze falling to the floor. It was as if she felt too ashamed to look the physician in the eye in that moment. The next words pummeled her like a cascade of rocks, but whatever damage was done before just merely piled on top, and she could do little but just take in the words with nothing written upon her features. Nothing at all.

""I'm so sorry, Laeta, but you'll never walk again. Your legs will be paralyzed for the rest of your life."

Mel rushed over to Lae as Syanne offered a comforting paw. The badger could only stammer out a few words, "Oh..oh dear..lady Laeta..I am deeply, deeply sorry.." His own brown eyes welled with tears. Who knew their friendship was so strong, despite having only met a few day prior? The words escaped the woman, though, who was grateful she could at least feel the warmth of her fellow pack member's paws on her own in comfort. Still, Lae couldn't feel to bad for herself. This was her fault, even if she was disorientated by the ooze at that time. The firefly man gave her what she deserved. With a deeply resigned sigh, the woman seemed ready to bury herself within this fate, knowing she would definitely be nothing but an extra weight on the pack, an extra mouth to feed. So much for her wanting a purpose in life. That's all she ever wanted..purpose. A reason to keep living. And even that she could no longer hold on to.

Her eyes flickered back to her friend and the physician, her eyes welling up themselves. not even real damn tears, just the bioluminescent fluid. "It's my fault this happened to me," She croaked. Mel began to reassure her with panicked stutters of "L-Lady Laeta! you mustn't blame yourself-" But she simply shook her head the best she could in her position upon her side. "No, Mel. It was my fault. Plain and simple." Lae wasn't really a believer in superstition or anything, but karma was real. What goes around, comes around. Her actions brought her here. Even if the ooze could be to blame for her erratic mindset at that time. Life was cruel, indeed.

"Speech"

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