Once the flames faded and the stream of Falmer dried up, it seemed as though everyone else went about business as usual. Anifaire’s companions grouped together, getting patched up and organized. Meanwhile, the Altmer trailed back into a darker corner of the room. She was unharmed save for superficial wounds, luckily, though she’d taken much more of a mental toll than the others. The stench of blood and death saturated her senses; she bent down over a bit of rubble and tried to swallow the bile rising in her throat. Ultimately, she failed, and found herself retching up a few mouthfuls of bile onto the rocks. She glanced up at the others, glad to see that no one had noticed. Truly, her companions seemed capable, and huddled in that corner, Anifaire knew she was out of her depth. One of them had already saved her. 

Simply, she didn’t want everybody – Rhea especially – to see her emptying her stomach on the ground. Once she’d gotten herself under control again, she trailed back over to the group, keeping to the outskirts still. While they recovered, she retreated inwards, shocked at the events of the day. Had it only been a day? It felt like a year. 

[i]Later…[/i]

It wasn’t until they came upon the ruined dwellings that some life returned to Anifaire. Her passion returned to her, the reason she’d come evident. The cat, Rhea, and the bard approached the wall. Anifaire trailed along behind, entranced by the words and pictures. She stopped a few feet away from the others, ignoring them in favour of trying an at-a-glance translation of some of the phrases. She picked up a few words in the dim light, but doing this first-hand wasn’t something she was accustomed to, and the script was messier than the altered, scholarly copies she was accustomed to. The high elf felt around in her pockets, wishing she could take a rubbing for later, when they heard the thumps. 

Terror gripped her. Not again, no. She didn’t want to go through that again. She wasn’t a fighter. Instinctively, she returned to the group. Strength in numbers. A light erupted in the room, flickering across the ground and revealing glimpses of Falmer as it did. She followed the group like a stray dog, eyes glazed. Reflexively, she attempted to stay near the middle of the group. There were pros to being with companions who were competent.