Damn it. Damn it. Damn it! An internal loop of panicked, pained cursing continued to reel through her mind as she leaned against one of the trees in this hellish swamp that she got caught in. Her blind running had landed her in this cursed place and she'd almost gotten herself caught in some quick sand, but she'd managed to get out of that and found a spot of solid ground for her to sit on. She leaned her uninjured shoulder into the trunk of the tree and panted hard as she looked down at her left shoulder at the deep bite that cut across it. There was a few more bites and scratches scattered around her neck and legs and even a few smaller ones on her sides, but the one on her shoulder was probably the most concerning. There was enough blood, both her own and from others, to make it look like a dark reddish black was one of the colors in her marbled coat. Everything hurt and the adrenaline in her system was starting to ebb away so she was really beginning to feel the pain and blood loss she had just gone through. Of all the things she had been taught, healing and triage wasn't one of them so she really had no idea what to do. Shit. She kept replying the battle over and over in her mind, picking it apart as her vision began to get fuzzy and tried to figure out where she went wrong or what she could have done differently. The real answer was that there was nothing she could have done, that she had simply been overwhelmed by sheer numbers, but that didn't matter. She had failed. Her woman had died. They had all died. Her fellow fighters had abandoned their posts and she had been left alone. She let her blue eyes close as she continued trying to suck air into her burning lungs while her head began to spin and the world felt more distant around her. She clung on to consciousness, but just barely. "Speech"

She was sure by now that Chimera had realized or was figuring out that Siren was gone. She hadn’t told him yet, but she’d half hoped to have a.. replacement for him. Something more useful than Siren. Venom shook her head, not fully grasping the depth of the relationship between Chimera and their sister. Then again it was hard for the heiress to see past her own biases sometimes.

This goal brought her more frequently outside of the pack lands, and lucky for her when she happened across an unfamiliar scent mixed with blood. There was no pack scent that she recognized and as Venom stalked her prey that reason became obvious. She was wounded, but the scent of her she’d been attacked fiercely. Death clung to her coat and the she wolf couldn’t deny her curiosity of the individual.

Venom was no healer, but she could see the lightness of consciousness in the way the woman moved. If she remained on the path she was on death would likely take her too. If Venom intervened… she could save a life and find a solution to her search. The Heir stalked forward and aimed to press her shoulder to the less injured one of the girl’s. ”Can you stay awake or do I have to carry you?” Likely her chosen present wouldn’t be able to put up any fight but follow her new crutch. If she could walk. If not, Venom was sure she could at least get her to the Armada. The last thing she wanted was to call for help and draw the wrong attention.

She didn't hear or notice the stranger approach her until she felt someone's shoulder pressed to hers, beginning to lift her away from the tree that had been keeping her upright previously. Her pale gaze fluttered open and she turned her head a bit till she saw the black and white woman. She was slitty fuzzy in her vision, but she could still make out the simple markings on her features and the magenta hue of her eyes. Her immediate instinct was to be afraid of the woman, thinking it could possibly be one of the wolves that had attacked her and had managed to follow her all the way here. However, she knew that even if that was the case there was no getting away from her now. She could barely keep her eyes open, much less run away. After a moment her foggy mind processed the question she had been asked and she began to realize that the stranger was trying to help her. Her scent held a definite pack scent, but it wasn't one she recognized so she was fairly certain it wasn't one of the enemy packs she had been fighting previously. How far had she actually gotten from her home land? She really didn't know. While it might have been easier to have the stranger carry her, Dalila couldn't get past her own pride to allow that to happen. With a good bit of effort she hoisted herself to her paws with gritted teeth. She wavered for a moment and had to lean on the monochrome woman's shoulder heavily as she found her balance, but she managed. Hopefully wherever they were going wasn't too far or she might have to change her decision on not being carried by the end of it - whether by her own choice or by the sheer fact of her passing out. "I can walk," she replied softly, her voice sounding oddly far away in her ears. "Speech"

The girl stiffened as Venom pressed herself close, but she wasn’t going to be going anywhere fast if she startled. The new Empress already had that long figured out. It seemed like the injured woman had as well, all of the flight was gone from her and the only way she’d make it through was if she still had some fight. Venom helped as much as was needed, seeing the value in the wolf if she could be brought to recovery within Ashen.

”Can you?” The godlet asked, not hiding any doubt she had. For now the smaller girl could walk on her own, but who was to say that by the last leg of the trip Venom had her on her shoulders. Thankfully she was small enough that tactic would work out. ”Come on, I’ll get you to the pack one way or another.” She meant the words in however many ways they could be interpreted. ”There’ll be someone to look at your wounds closer when we arrive.” Though she wasn’t sure who at this point. Her healers were all very nearly non-existent. Then they might talk about her newfound place in the Ashen Empire, after they healed her wounds she’d been indebted of course. Perhaps she’s asuage some of Chimera’s negative energy.

The question of if she could actually walk or not made Dalila wonder just how bad she looked. She knew how weak she felt, but she had to imagine that she looked even worse than she felt. She felt at least semi certain that she would be able to keep herself upright for at least a little bit, but it was good to know that she'd be taken to get home one way or another. She still didn't like the idea of being completely helpless and having to rely on a stranger for help, but at this point she didn't have a choice. It was either this or just let herself die. After everything she had done to get away and make it this far she didn't want to give up just yet. After they started walking, their pace slow and steady, Dalila completely relied on the black and white woman to guide her. Her vision soon got to the point where it didn't matter if she had her eyes open or not - everything was fuzzy and out of focus anyway. She kept her paws moving, but it wasn't without a lot of effort. Each step felt like it took all of her energy and she had to put all of her focus into lifting one paw and placing it in front of her and then again and again with each step she took. It was perhaps the biggest relief of all when the stranger came to a stop and Dalila realized they had arrived at the border of whatever pack they had been heading toward. Somehow she had managed to stay on her feet long enough to make it here and she was truly even shocked with herself that she had done so. As soon as they stopped moving her legs crumpled beneath her and she sank down onto her stomach. She clung to her consciousness the best she could, but eventually blackness swallowed her and the world finally fell away. "Speech"