[center][h1]Trost[/h1]
[@HecateProxy]
[h2][color=7ea7d8]Lauren Jones[/color][/h2][/center]

[color=7ea7d8][i]I can't keep up with all this.[/i][/color]

[color=Gray]Teetering on the edge of consciousness with her arms wrapped around Mora and Trost dying around them, Lauren was struggling to distinguish reality from the constantly spinning world around her.  When she had been plucked from the sky and rescue from certain death by her friend she had questioned whether she had, in fact, passed on prematurely.  The pain in her side, her nausea, the pounding in her head, the presence of the Titans and the screaming all around them had dissuaded her of this notion but she still clung onto Mora tightly, as if afraid she might wake up to find her gone.

They moved away from the frontline, Mora having to move more slowly and carefully with the extra weight and cumbersomeness of Lauren's body hanging from around her neck.  Try as she might, Lauren found it difficult to focus on keeping an eye out behind them for any Titans, screwing her eyes up shut to fend off waves of nausea rising up to overwhelm her.  The sounds of battle and death quietened, but only slightly, always seeming to keep pace with them as they headed back in the direction of HQ, the advance of the Titans was relentless.  They kept well ahead out of danger, the other cadets still fighting desperately behind them.  Lauren worried about her own team, suddenly without a nominated leader and facing an abomination but going back would have done nothing helpful, she was unable to fight and would only be a liability in her state; she needed to be removed from the battle so as not to get in anyone's way.

[color=7ea7d8]"Ra, can we stop, for just a minute?"[/color] She asked in a quiet voice as a suddenly powerful bout of nausea welled up, her throat tingling with an acidic feeling.  They pulled to a halt on a tall building with a good, commanding view of most of Trost, safely out of the reach of all but the tallest Titans which they would be able to see coming in plenty of time.

Gingerly Lauren extricated herself from Mora, her legs wavering as they tried to hold her weight and she was forced to lean almost entirely on her friend to stop from tumbling over.  Her breath came in short gasps, partly trying to fend off the the vomit rising in her throat and part because of the blazing pain in her chest from where the Titan had grazed her.  It was no use, though, and she stumbled away and fell to her knees and retched.  Bile and blood, mostly blood, splattered onto the rooftop and she moaned in pain as her chest protested against the heaving of her stomach.  She retched again and this time it was all blood.  It looked strangely colourful on the monotone, overcast battlefield and she felt slightly less nauseous for it even if it brought new concerns about the extent of her injury.

[color=7ea7d8]"Not just some cracked ribs then."[/color] She rolled over, using a chimney to rest her back against and gingerly felt her chest.  She could see patches of blood underneath her coat, staining the white shirt from underneath but they were not large or numerous enough for immediate concern.  The world still span as if she was flipping through the air using her Gear so she scrunched her eyes up, willing it all to stay still so that she could focus on their predicament but her severe motion sickness showed no sign of abating soon.

[color=7ea7d8]"Ra, why did you come here?"[/color] She asked, breathing lightly to avoid aggravating her chest any further.  [color=7ea7d8]"I... don't mean it like that.  I thought that you were away."[/color] She paused, opening her eyes to look at her friend.  Her miraculous Mora, the source of her strength and the barrier against all the pain the world could throw at her.  She could be strong when she knew Mora would still be there, ward off the hatred she bore herself because Mora would not allow it.  [color=7ea7d8]"I thought that you'd be safe."[/color]  She sighed, looking up at the heavy clouds above.  Their ominous darkness seemed fitting for the disaster befalling the town around them.  [color=7ea7d8]"God, I missed you though. When you were reassigned I... didn't know where I was anymore.  It was like the ground beneath me was gone.  And then... this."[/color] She waved at herself, feeling exhausted and pessimistic about their chances.  She gazed at Mora, her Ra, who had come for her again at the moment when she needed her most.  Tears sprung unbidden to her eyes and rolled down her cheeks, leaving streaks in the grime on her cheeks and the blood at the corners of her mouth.

[color=7ea7d8]"Thank you, Ra.  For coming back."[/color][/color]