[Combo-post with [@corneredbliss] and [@Ermine]]

“I feel…”

Yvah felt the odd yet familiar sensation of slime underneath her fingernails. Shock painted over her tired expression after she looked down to her bloody hands. 

“I,” her voice caught in her throat, her eyes fixated and distressed as if plagued by haunting images, “What did I do?”

Araerys bit down on her lower lip, still completely unsure of what to say. She could see another change happening on the girl’s face; this time, an expression of upset that could’ve broken the bard’s heart. “You, ah…” She cleared her throat, then continued, “You got a little over-excited, dove.” Her gaze trailed over to Daisy and gave her the slightest of eyebrow raises, as if to signal that she should probably take over. Ary didn’t want to overstep any boundaries, and wasn’t even really sure how she could explain the gravity of the situation.

“Don’t do it again, okay? It’s a little...scary. And violent. Very not us.” Daisy took a deep breath, figuring she had to be honest with her friend. “You killed the fishyface. And then...killed her some more. And a little extra for making you expend all that extra effort.”

Yvah turned her head away from her stained fingers and hesitatingly looked behind her. The broken corpse of a small, majestic dragon lay almost directly opposed to them. Her expression grew sour as she pulled her vision away from the scene. 

“I see,” she said in muted tone. She seemed to barely compose herself as she said, “I think I need to clear my thoughts.” She could seem to sense the apprehension in her companions as she turned to them with the weakest of smiles. She said, “It’ll be okay. I’ll be strong,” but there was a tremble in her lip. 

The frown seemed to deepen on Ary’s face as she watched Yvah turn to look at the corpse, whose blood was still fresh on her hands, and almost reached for her when the girl stood up. She thought better of it, regardless of its good intentions, and simply stood up herself as the feline turned back to them with what was an attempt at reassurance. “Sure you don't need any company?” she suggested in a nonchalantly warm voice, already knowing the answer but figuring it was better to ask, anyway. They were already lacking one member - she was sure the group didn’t need another loss.

“I’ll come back. We’ve a job to do. I just,” she looks down, “Need to talk myself down a bit.”

“Hold on, I know something that should help. Octoboy! Come here, too. You need comforting, too!” With a flourish, Daisy stepped up on one of the pews - one on the seat, one on the back - and began to perform. She gestured toward Yvah and Ulor, 

“Never gonna give you up, never gonna let you down 
Never gonna run around and desert you 
Never gonna make you cry, never gonna say goodbye 
Never gonna tell a lie and hurt you.

“Also, gonna make you feel a little better, I hope.”

An inner calm seemed to draw upon her as Yvah breathed in deeply. Before the verse ended, she stood and walked away. Her breath held as she walked past the brutalized priestess, refusing to look upon what she had apparently done. Stepping through the back doorway and onto the terrace beyond, Yvah found a shaded area to sit with her back to the wall. 

She wept silently. Memories of her brother became vivid in her mind. Her breaths grew ragged and remorseful despite her best efforts to calm herself. Eventually the world around her faded from her perception, and the memories were the last to fade with them. She eased into the silence of mind and space like a cradle, nestling her away from her anxieties.